Effective communication is essential for participant engagement and the success of clinical research studies. While EasyMedStat's ePRO system offers some language options to enhance accessibility, there are specific limitations and features that researchers need to understand when setting up and managing questionnaires.

Overview of Language Settings

In the current ePRO setup, the system allows participants to change the interface language directly from the questionnaire itself. This feature is designed to improve the user experience by providing a familiar navigation environment in the participant's preferred language.

Key Features and Limitations

• Interface Language Selection: Participants can change the language of the questionnaire interface at any point while filling out the questionnaire. This option helps ensure that navigation and instructions are accessible and clear.
• Static Question Content: It is important to note that changing the interface language does not translate the questions themselves. The questions and their content remain in the language in which they were originally written, regardless of the interface language change.
• No Support for Multilingual Questionnaires: Currently, EasyMedStat does not support the creation of multilingual questionnaires. All questions must be prepared in one language, and there is no option to add additional languages for the questionnaire content itself.

Setting the Default Language for a Questionnaire

When creating a new questionnaire, selecting the default language is a crucial step. This language will be used for the default interface settings.

In the questionnaire settings, you will find an option to select the default language (General subsection). Choose the language that best suits the majority of your study participants or the regulatory requirements of the study region.

The default language setting will determine the language used for the questionnaire interface seen by participants when they start the questionnaire. However, participants will have the ability to change the interface language to their preference, although this change will only affect the interface and not the content of the questions.

Implications for Researchers

Researchers should be aware of these limitations and prepare their questionnaires accordingly. If a study involves participants who speak different languages, researchers need to ensure that the questions are either understandable in a common language agreed upon by the participants or create separate questionnaires for each language group.

Best Practices for Language Management

• Clear Language Use: Given the lack of multilingual support for question content, use clear and simple language to maximize understanding.
• Cultural Considerations: Be mindful of cultural nuances that might affect comprehension and ensure that the questionnaire is culturally appropriate for the intended audience.
• Participant Instructions: Clearly instruct participants on how to change the interface language if needed and inform them that the questions will remain in the set language.