JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Access to trustworthy, understandable and actionable health information is a determinant of health and an essential component of Universal Health Coverage and Primary Health Care. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a new digital resource for use with the general public to improve health and well-being at and across different life phases and to support people to care for themselves, their families and community.

Objective:

The aim of this manuscript is to describe the methodology used to develop the resource – ‘Your life, your health: Tips and information for health and well-being’ – in order to explore a potentially transferable approach to making trustworthy health information accessible, understandable and actionable for the general public in a digital format.

Methods:

A five-step process was used to develop Your life, your health. This included: a) a review and synthesis of existing WHO technical guidance, member state health and health literacy plans and international human rights frameworks to identify priority messages; b) the development of messages and graphics to be accessible, understandable and actionable for the public through the application of health literacy principles; c) engaging with experts and other stakeholders to refine messages and message delivery; d) presentation of priority content in an accessible digital format; and e) piloting with potential users to develop and adapt the resource based on feedback and new evidence. The ‘Your life, your health’ online resource adopts a life course approach to organize health information based on priority actions and rights that support people’s health and wellbeing at, and across, different life phases as well as on specific health topics. The resource supports users in developing health literacy skills through advice on how to ask questions of health workers, how to make good decisions about personal and family health, and how best to use digital media to obtain health information. It also reflects the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals, to provide “essential” information on the social determinants of health, and clarifies the different roles that individuals, frontline workers, governments and the media play in promoting and protecting health.

Results:

The ‘Your life, your health’ online resource adopts a life course approach to organize health information based on priority actions and rights that support people’s health and wellbeing at, and across, different life phases as well as on specific health topics. The resource supports users in developing health literacy skills through advice on how to ask questions of health workers, how to make good decisions about personal and family health, and how best to use digital media to obtain health information. It also reflects the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals, to provide “essential” information on the social determinants of health, and clarifies the different roles that individuals, frontline workers, governments and the media play in promoting and protecting health.

Conclusions:

Making health information available – including to the public – is an essential step in the global health information system. The development process for the ‘Your life, your health’ online resource outlined in this article offers a structured approach to public communication which can be adapted for use within and beyond the WHO to translate technical health guidelines into accessible, understandable, and actionable health information for the general public.