Tag Archives: publication support

Graphical Abstract

Publication Writing, , , , , , ,

What is graphical abstract?

Graphical abstract is a concise and visual/pictorial summary of the main findings of any publication manuscript. It helps readers to understand the findings of a manuscript in a better way and in a simplified manner. They are not replacements of traditional textual abstracts instead are an addition to them.

Why Graphical Abstract?

Graphical abstract should not be considered as a burden or waste of time by the authors. Therefore, it is necessary for them to understand the rationale behind the use of graphical abstract. Graphical abstract is a well-suited platform to share or disseminate the research via social media in today’s time and help attract the readers to encourage them to further read the article. Graphical abstract can help reader to quickly get the take-home message.

Hullan et al. analyzed 54 graphical abstracts and outlined the common patterns of graphical abstract designs observed in published literature. They include:

  1. Process illustrations: The most common layout presenting the processes “using (hand‑crafted) illustrations on a linear or forking layout”.
  2. Result representation: Data visualizations in the form of line charts to depict research results was used by numerous graphical abstracts.
  3. Parallel layouts: These graphical abstracts include “parallel pictures laid out horizontally on the graphical abstract plane”.

Recently, the use of graphical abstract is gaining momentum. A recent study by Pferschy‑Wenzig et al. compared the visibility of manuscripts published with graphical abstracts with that of publications without the one in the journal ‘Molecules’. The study found that the manuscripts published without graphical abstract had significantly higher abstract views, PDF downloads, and total citations. However, this study included the comparison of research from a limited timeframe and also focused on one journal. Future research on other journals comparing research from longer time periods is warranted.

Some tips for designing a graphical abstract

  1. Always refer to the journals guidelines to check specifications for graphical abstracts. For example; Elsevier has the specifications on image size, font, file type
  2. Refer to the examples of graphical abstract from the publisher and see the one to which the new study matches and design it accordingly. Elsevier has enlisted 16 good examples of graphical abstracts for articles published in their journals
  3. Keep it simple and to one image only
  4. Focus on the design and composition
  5. Stay away from using saturated distracting colors for the abstract
  6. Graphical abstract should present the results of the study rather than the method used to obtain the results or the referenced literature, unless necessary
  7. Must be self-explanatory
  8. Must include keywords in the image
  9. Microsoft paint, Microsoft PowerPoint, adobe illustrator, ChenDraw, Coreldraw can be used to design graphical abstract. Several software available online can also be used, such as Mind the Graph, Inkscape etc.
  10. You can also refer to agencies offering services for graphical abstract designing

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions (THS) is a medical writing agency with specialized medical writing and editing services of Publication writing, Regulatory writing, and Medico-marketing document for the pharma industry. This blog aims to spread awareness about the increasing use of graphical abstracts in publications and its role in disseminating the published research information to a wide audience via online media.

#WorldHeartDay

Awareness Day/Month, , , ,

“A heart for life”

World Heart Day (sponsored by World Heart Federation) was founded in 2000, a biggest intervention against cardiovascular disease (CVD) which takes place on 29 September every year. Around the globe, heart disease and stroke constitutes 17.3 million deaths every year.

The main focus of this is on creating healthy heart environments. By ensuring that everyone has the chance to make healthy heart choices wherever they live, work and play. World Heart Day encourages everyone to reduce our cardiovascular risk, and promotes a heart-healthy planet for those around us.

Each year there is a different theme for World heart day which essentially concentrates on the key issues and topics relating to heart health. This year’s theme is to ‘create heart-healthy environments’.

World Heart Day spreads the news that at least 80% of premature deaths from CVD can be avoided by four main risk factors- tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol – are controlled. The magnitude of the benefits that can be achieved by reducing these risks makes intervention cost-effective. Hence there is a need to designate a special day for activities to prevent heart disease and stroke.

Creating a heart healthy environment,

  • Promoting physical activity, such as trails for walking, running, bicycling and places for playing outdoor games.
  • Schools and child care facilities that provide quality physical education and have nutritious meals available.
  • Workplaces and community spaces that are smoke-free and have healthy food options.

World Heart Day is observed in many different ways across the world. Many innovative ways have been devised by several foundations and professional societies for marking this event. There has been an association between national societies and foundations in many countries. These include runs, sports events, theatre, street events, dancing, and cycling in public spaces, schools, and hospitals. The success of this depends on the proactivity of organizations from around the world to help us spread awareness of CVD.

World Heart Day has enjoyed huge success in building partnerships by obtaining support from the private sector, charities, societies and foundations for this common cause. The next step is to engage the public sector and foster collaboration with the Ministries of Health. An active participation of WHO has already been done in the World Heart Day campaign.

This World Heart Day is an ideal opportunity to scale up efforts at the country level within a globally led initiative. A whole day dedicated to CVD prevention is an effective way of engaging the media, the public, policy-makers, and health professionals in information dissemination, awareness creation, and advocacy.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions as a socially responsible company spreads the word and awareness and looks forward to collaboration or associations with other agencies/companies with similar goals and aspirations. We have a skilled and competent team of medical writers, clinicians, researchers and biostatisticians. Our clients include major pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and healthcare professionals. Our experience has been in supporting publications, creating regulatory documents, conducting observational studies, designing and creating for print and digital marketing as well as customizing sessions on medical writing.