Science communication, including formats such as podcasts, news interviews, or graphical abstracts, can contribute to the acceleration of translational research by improving knowledge transfer to patient, policymaker, and practitioner communities. In particular, graphical abstracts, which are optional for articles published in Translational Behavioral Medicine as well as many other journals, are created by authors of scientific articles or by editorial staff to visually present a study’s design, findings, and implications, to improve comprehension among non-academic audiences. The use of graphical abstracts in scientific journals has increased in the past 10–15 years; however, most scientists are not trained in how to develop them, which presents a challenge for creating graphical abstracts that engage the public. In this article, the authors describe graphical abstracts and offer suggestions for their construction based on the extant literature. Specifically, graphical abstracts should use a solid background, employ an easily readable font, combine visuals with words, convey only the essential study design information and 1–3 “take-home” points, have a clear organizational structure, contain restrained and accessible use of color, use single-color icons, communicate ways to access the full-text article, and include the contact information for the lead author. Authors should obtain feedback on graphical abstract drafts prior to dissemination. There is emerging research on the benefits of graphical abstracts in terms of impact and engagement; however, it will be essential for future research to determine how to optimize the design of graphical abstracts, in order to engage patient, policymaker, and practitioner communities in improving behavioral health.

中文翻译：

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图形摘要增强科学传播的潜力

科学传播，包括播客、新闻采访或图形摘要等格式，可以通过改善向患者、政策制定者和从业者社区的知识转移来促进转化研究的加速。特别是，图形摘要对于在转化行为医学以及许多其他期刊上发表的文章是可选的，由科学文章的作者或编辑人员创建，以直观地呈现研究的设计、发现和含义，以提高读者的理解非学术受众。过去 10-15 年，科学期刊中图形摘要的使用有所增加；然而，大多数科学家没有接受过如何开发它们的培训，这对创建吸引公众的图形摘要提出了挑战。在本文中，作者描述了图形摘要，并根据现有文献为其构建提供了建议。具体来说，图形摘要应使用坚实的背景，采用易于阅读的字体，将视觉效果与文字相结合，仅传达基本的研究设计信息和1-3个“要点”，具有清晰的组织结构，包含有限且易于使用的内容颜色，使用单色图标，传达访问全文文章的方式，并包含主要作者的联系信息。作者应在传播之前获取有关图形摘要草稿的反馈。关于图形摘要在影响力和参与度方面的好处的研究正在兴起；然而，未来的研究必须确定如何优化图形摘要的设计，以便让患者、政策制定者和从业者社区参与改善行为健康。