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Background: Health Literacy Online: A Guide for Simplifying the User Experience is a publication from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) that has provided guidance to health communicators and web developers since its publication in 2010. Although many recommendations in the original guide hold true today, much of the technology — and related best practices — has evolved. To meet the needs of changing times, ODPHP developed a second edition of Health Literacy Online.
Program background: In the latest edition, ODPHP updated the recommendations to reflect findings from a more robust body of literature related to the cognitive processing and online behavior of adults with limited literacy skills, as well as original ODPHP research conducted over the past 5 years. As with the first edition, ODPHP builds on the principles of web usability described in the Research-Based Web Design and Usability Guidelines developed by HHS in partnership with the General Services Administration. ODPHP also added new considerations for mobile based on best practices in the literature and original testing. The second edition of Health Literacy Online includes guidance on topics such as:
- How literacy affects the way users read and process information on a screen
- How users with limited literacy skills navigate a website
- Technology use of people with limited literacy skills
- Design of usable interfaces for users with limited literacy skills — including recommendations about navigation, search, page layout, and responsive design
- Conducting user research with people who have limited literacy skills
Evaluation Methods and Results: Recommendations in the guide are based on research conducted by ODPHP with more than 700 people with limited literacy skills, and best practices from the literature on cognitive processing and the online behavior of adults with limited literacy skills. The guide itself has also been tested with practitioners to ensure that it is helpful and easy to use.
Conclusions: This session will delve into the latest evidence-based tips to make online health information and services more appealing, accessible, and usable for all audiences — particularly users who don’t have strong reading or health literacy skills. Using the latest version of ODPHP’s Health Literacy Online, presenters will walk through best practices for the development of effective and impactful health websites and digital health tools.
Implications for research and/or practice: Many web users struggle with even the most basic tasks, like using a search function. This may not matter much in the context of online news, but the stakes are raised considerably when a person is trying to sign up for health insurance or learn about a new medical diagnosis. And today, these activities are more likely to occur online than off. How easily users can accomplish health-related tasks online depends largely on the quality of the websites we create. This guide reflects an approach to responsible digital design and development that:
- Prioritizes the information needs and preferences of consumers
- Involves end users as co-creators of products
- Recognizes designing for limited-literacy users is designing for all users