Getting the Message Across
What’s the best way to present a health resource? Apparently, ease of use trumps all other factors
People are becoming more healthcare savvy and more likely to use the Internet for research on medical issues, but what kind of resources are the most popular? In the US, where direct-to-consumer advertising is allowed, companies spend a great deal of money on developing marketing messages and resources about prescription medicines, so knowing exactly what makes a patient tick and grabs their attention is a high priority. Every year, Kelton and Makovsky Health conducts a US survey to glean insight into this area. For the 2016 Pulse of Online Search Survey, 1035 “nationally representative” Americans took part, and the results show that the most important factor influencing the use of an online health resource is ease of use (1). The fact that usability is important is not so surprising, but the fact that it typically outranks trustworthiness is interesting; 59 percent of people surveyed trusted advocacy group websites but only 16 percent visited them looking for health information – instead, they selected more user-friendly resources.
- Makovsky Integrated Communication, “Makovsky Pulse of Online Search Survey” (March 2016). Available at: bit.ly/1pzpXaW
Over the course of my Biomedical Sciences degree it dawned on me that my goal of becoming a scientist didn’t quite mesh with my lack of affinity for lab work. Thinking on my decision to pursue biology rather than English at age 15 – despite an aptitude for the latter – I realized that science writing was a way to combine what I loved with what I was good at.
From there I set out to gather as much freelancing experience as I could, spending 2 years developing scientific content for International Innovation, before completing an MSc in Science Communication. After gaining invaluable experience in supporting the communications efforts of CERN and IN-PART, I joined Texere – where I am focused on producing consistently engaging, cutting-edge and innovative content for our specialist audiences around the world.
