choosing the right referencing style: keeping health content accessible & interesting

As a medical communications specialist, I know all too well how important referencing is.

It:
- helps to position your brand as an authority by showing that you've done your research
- demonstrates that you have evidence to back your claims
- acknowledges the people who've done the research that you're citing

However, when it comes to patient-facing content, choosing the right kind of referencing is important too - especially if you are making a lot of claims in your content.

I've worked on countless projects in the last almost-decade. One recent project is a patient-facing health platform and the client has decided to choose APA referencing. I suggested an alternative, but it's a non-negotiable. Unfortunately, looking back on the content, I just don't love how it looks, and it's the in-text referencing that's the reason.

Patient-facing content should be interesting, accessible and accurate. And for me personally, content that's heavy on in-text citations looks academic rather than patient-focused, and is generally less accessible and enticing to read.

Yes, patients want to know that what they are reading, the advice they are getting, is accurate. But there are much subtler referencing methods that can achieve this, without compromising on the appeal and accessibility of the content.

As a contracted professional, I'll always provide the content you want in the format you have asked for. But I'll also always make recommendations based on my decade of experience as a health communications specialist, and many years of experience as an actual human patient, where I think they could be valuable. And not using APA-style in-text citations for patient-facing content is a hill I will die on.

How do you feel about referencing in your content? Does it affect the way you view and react to it?