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New Guidance to Empower Patient Authors
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Taylor & Francis introduces one of the first guides tailored to patient authors.
As part of its commitment to inclusive and patient-centered research, Taylor & Francis has launched a new resource aimed at empowering patients to actively contribute to medical research publications. Guidance for Patient Authors offers clear, step-by-step instructions and resources to help patients navigate the publication journey.
Patients are increasingly involved in both research projects and reporting on findings, bringing their valuable perspectives to medical literature. However, patient authors typically have less familiarity with the publishing process than their research colleagues and may also have additional considerations for their involvement, such as the implications for confidentiality.
The new resource addresses these needs by going beyond standard authorship guidance, outlining what prospective patient authors should do and expect at each stage of the process. This includes how patient authors can contribute to an article, what information about themselves they will need to provide, and what happens after submission.
In addition, the guide will help those working alongside patient authors, such as pharmaceutical companies and medical communications agencies, understand the specific requirements for articles with patient authors. This includes adding ‘Patient Author’ as the title of their affiliation, to improve the visibility of patient-authored publications.
“We are excited to launch one of the first ever guides for patient authors,” said Dr Mithi Ahmed-Richards, Executive Editor for Current Medical Research & Opinion at Taylor & Francis. “We believe that including patients is crucial for producing more relevant and impactful medical research publications. This guide is therefore a significant step towards making knowledge more accessible and inclusive.”
Several patient experts have already welcomed the publication of the new guide:
“This is a comprehensive guide that clearly recognizes the value of patients as authors and sets out what they can expect when considering authorship,” said Trishna Bharadia, multi award-winning health advocate and patient engagement consultant. “It is clear, detailed and will hopefully encourage more patients to get involved. I particularly like the attention that has been paid to considerations around confidentiality and publications being public, given the sensitive nature of health information and patient confidentiality. As a patient author myself, I welcome the guidance with open arms and will be signposting others to it in the future!”
“There has been increasing interest among patients to get involved in research publications, but they may not know how to, or they may find the journal publishing process opaque and daunting,” said Clarinda Cerejo, patient expert, patient engagement consultant, and co-host of the ‘Not Just Patients’ podcast. “This guidance by Taylor & Francis is a much-needed handy resource for patient authors as it covers all the questions they may have and is written in simple language. I appreciate that links have been provided throughout for more detailed guidance on specific points and that it encourages patient authors to contact the editorial team for any further questions.”
“People living with health conditions, along with their support networks, are finally being recognized and valued for their expertise, including as readers and contributors to content published by medical journals,” said Dr Simon Stones, patient author and medical communications specialist. “It is refreshing to see Taylor & Francis’ latest guidance specifically for patient authors, which helps break down historical barriers and affirms that patients and their networks are not only co-authoring publications but are also a valued audience. The guidance provides a wealth of useful information for both new and experienced patient authors, outlining key considerations when publishing academic articles.”
The guidance for patient authors is available on Taylor & Francis Author Services.
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