Equitable Comprehension of Data-Driven Messages: Designing Government Web Pages Using Clear Communication Tactics

Background:

The Biden/Harris administration has been issuing grants totaling $250 million that fund action and research to address the value of health literacy and employ plain language and other tactics that ensure underserved communities can access and understand vital health information.

And 13 years ago, President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act of 2010 into law (H.R.946; Pub.L. 111-274), October, 2010, the objective of which was to produce and communicate government content that was clear, concise, well-organized, and consistent with other best practices appropriate to the subject or field and intended audience. Public health websites are a primary channel for the public and healthcare professionals to access reliable, science-based information. The content must be presented in a manner that can be understood and is actionable. Both clear language and page design play key roles toward that objective.

Program background:

Work that IQ Solutions has completed for the NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), and National Institute on Aging (NIA), serves to demonstrate successful tactics, both through page design and appropriate reading level content, for a comprehension-friendly web page.

Examples will be provided from each governmental web project mentioned here that demonstrate tips and actions for greater content comprehension and engagement.

Evaluation Methods and Results:

In each case, user-testing informed content and information design flow to ensure greater comprehension for both desktop and mobile platforms. The approach ensured that content consistently addressed all people inclusively and respectfully, including adapting communications to specific cultural, linguistic, environmental, and historical experience of the target audience. Content readability and grade level accuracy was measured using the Flesch-Kincaid Calculator. And page design was emphasized for improved content visibility with techniques both intuitive and novel, like incorporating large file tabs in the body of the page.

Conclusions:

Before and after comparisons of the examples provided show the impact of the described tactics. Since the launch of the updated pages, organic search to the site has experienced strong growth, up by 36.6% compared to the same time in the prior year. The average time on page (5 minutes 52 seconds) is also well above the average for HHS web pages (2 minutes 11 seconds). Data Analytics evaluating reader behaviors on each of the examples will be provided.

Implications for research and/or practice: We have found that following specific design and color guidelines, aligned with content that follows plain language stipulations, that the evidence-based content on public health websites can prove more effective and engaging in reaching all audiences with information they can understand and act on.