{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]],"date-time":"2025-10-01T15:56:51Z","timestamp":1759334211847,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,30]],"date-time":"2025-09-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759190400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Informatics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigated how icon array layouts influence comprehension of medical risk information, particularly in relation to users\u2019 cognitive abilities. In a within-subjects experiment (N = 121), participants reviewed clinical scenarios with treatment-related risks and side effect risks displayed in either separated or integrated icon arrays. Comprehension was significantly higher for separated treatment-related risk layouts (p &lt; 0.001), while side effect layout showed no effect. Numeracy and graph literacy significantly predicted comprehension. Crucially, individuals with lower numeracy showed marked gains when viewing separated formats, whereas those with higher numeracy performed well regardless of layout. Despite this, participants preferred hybrid formats\u2014separated treatment-related risk with integrated side effect risks\u2014revealing a critical preference\u2013performance gap. By demonstrating how visual layout interacts with user abilities, this study provides actionable guidance for patient decision aid design. The findings show that comprehension accuracy must take precedence over layout compactness and user preference, with separated layouts recommended for treatment-related risks\u2014especially for individuals with lower numeracy\u2014and greater flexibility allowed for side effect risks when space is limited.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/informatics12040105","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,30]],"date-time":"2025-09-30T10:54:48Z","timestamp":1759229688000},"page":"105","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Balancing Layout Space and Risk Comprehension in Health Communication: A Comparison of Separated and Integrated Icon Arrays"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-5852-1902","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Li-Jen","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral Program in Design, College of Design, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Taipei 10608, Taiwan"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1865-7185","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Meng-Cong","family":"Zheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Design, National Taipei University of Technology, 1, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Taipei 10608, Taiwan"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"729","DOI":"10.1177\/0272989X211035681","article-title":"The International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) Collaboration: Evidence Update 2.0","volume":"41","author":"Stacey","year":"2021","journal-title":"Med. Decis. 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