Multilingual Simplification of Medical Texts

Automated text simplification aims to produce simple versions of complex texts. This task is especially useful in the medical domain, where the latest medical findings are typically communicated via complex, technical articles. This creates barriers for laypeople seeking access to up-to-date medical findings, consequently impeding progress on health literacy. Most existing work on medical text simplification has focused on monolingual settings, with the result that such evidence would be available only in just one language (most often, English). This work addresses this limitation via multilingual simplification, i.e., directly simplifying complex texts into simplified texts in multiple languages. We introduce MULTICOCHRANE, the first sentence-aligned multilingual text simplification dataset for the medical domain in four languages: English, Spanish, French, and Farsi. We evaluate fine-tuned and zero-shot models across these languages with extensive human assessments and analyses. Although models can generate viable simplified texts, we identify several outstanding challenges that this dataset might be used to address. MultiCochrane Complex Simple Preclinical studies have suggested that RIC may have beneficial effects in ischaemic stroke patients and those at risk of ischaemic stroke. English: Studies have suggested that RIC may have beneficial effects for preventing and treating ischaemic stroke. Spanish: Los estudios han indicado que el CIR puede tener efectos beneficiosos en la prevención y el tratamiento del accidente cerebrovascular isquémico. French: Des études ont suggéré que le CID pourrait avoir des effets bénéfiques sur la prévention et le traitement de l'AVC ischémique. Farsi: ‫ﮐﮫ‬ ‫اﻧد‬ ‫ﮐرده‬ ‫ﭘﯾﺷﻧﮭﺎد‬ ‫طﺎﻟﻌﺎت‬ RIC ‫درﻣﺎن‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﭘﯾﺷﮕﯾری‬ ‫ﺑرای‬ ‫ﻣﻔﯾدی‬ ‫اﺛرات‬ ‫اﺳت‬ ‫ﻣﻣﮑن‬ ‫ﺑﺎﺷد‬ ‫داﺷﺗﮫ‬ ‫اﯾﺳﮑﻣﯾﮏ‬ ‫ﻣﻐزی‬ ‫.ﺳﮑﺗﮫ‬ Human evaluation of system outputs English: Interventions have suggested that RAP may have beneficial effects in ischaemic stroke patients, those at risk of stroke. Spanish: Las intervenciones pueden ser efectivas para los pacientes que se accidente cerebrovascular isquémico y los que se encuentran en riesgo del accidente cerebrovascular isquémico. Gloss: The interventions can be effective for the patients that accident themselves ischemic stroke and those that find themselves at risk of the ischemic stroke.