The 1st edition of Health Literacy Online (2010) synthesized lessons learned from ODPHP’s original research with more than 700 web users and the small but growing body of literature on the web experiences of users with limited literacy skills. The guide was built on the principles of web usability described in the Research-Based Web Design and Usability Guidelines [PDF - 20.8 MB] developed by HHS in partnership with the General Services Administration (GSA). (See Appendix C for details on ODPHP’s original user research.)
The 2nd edition of Health Literacy Online (2016) was updated to reflect how technology and related best practices had evolved. We reviewed the body of literature related to literacy, health literacy, user-centered design, and usability available at the time. Using information in articles and resources published after 2008, we updated the recommendations to reflect emerging technologies and a deeper understanding of the cognitive processing of adults with limited literacy skills.
Specifically, we added information about:
- Mobile usability, navigation, search, and responsive design
- Limited-literacy users’ behaviors online
- How to conduct research with users with limited literacy skills
The 2nd edition of Health Literacy Online also reflected findings from ODPHP usability testing with more than 70 users with limited literacy skills, including:
- A tree-testing study of healthfinder.gov to evaluate information architecture
- A baseline mobile usability test of healthfinder.gov’s responsive template
- Additional usability tests to evaluate and iterate small design changes and new tools on healthfinder.gov
