Our task: Create a health Web site that: 1) is easy-to-use and 2) motivates people to change their behavior.
Result: Since 2007, the CommunicateHealth team has been writing consumer health content for the Quick Guide to Healthy Living, part of healthfinder.gov. The design and content of the site were informed by formative research and usability testing with more than 750 participants, many of whom had limited literacy skills. The site is continually being evaluated and improved through a user-centered, iterative process.
Explore 
More: Quick Guide to Healthy Living
Kudos: In 2010, the Quick Guide won the ClearMark award for best plain language public sector Web site.
Client: Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Role: Content development and management, user-centered design
The new HealthyHomes.gov Web site will bring together environmental health and safety information from multiple federal agencies. The challenge: making content resonate with consumers – most of whom don’t connect ‘home’ with ‘health.’
Result: To date, CommunicateHealth has:
- facilitated focus groups with consumers across the country
- created personas representing key audiences
- conducted interviews with environmental health professionals
- completed a content analysis of existing healthy homes content
- conducted card-sorting exercises to inform information architecture
We’ve made some interesting discoveries, and we’re in the process of applying what we’ve learned to the design of our initial prototype. The site is scheduled to launch in early 2012 – stay tuned!
Client: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development & U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Role: Project management, user-centered design, content development, graphic design
We set out to transform Healthy People from a telephone book of printed text into an interactive Web site that intuitively connects public health professionals with new tools and evidence-based resources.
Result: Healthy People 2020 was launched in December 2010 – introducing the national public health goals and objectives for the decade. CommunicateHealth developed the content for the Web site, which features:
- Practical how-to information on planning, implementing, and tracking public health programs.
- Printable tools and checklists for public health professionals.
- Evidence-based interventions and resources linked to each of the 42 Healthy People topic areas.
Explore More: Healthy People 2020
Kudos: The redesigned HealthyPeople.gov Web site garnered accolades from leaders in the public health field, including HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. We took pride in the positive feedback from users:
Client: Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Role: Content development and management, user testing
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