A health literacy analysis of the consumer-oriented COVID-19 information produced by ten state health departments.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the public's need for quality health information that is understandable. This study aimed to identify (1) the extent to which COVID-19 messaging by state public health departments is understandable, actionable, and clear; (2) whether materials produced by public health departments are easily readable; (3) relationships between material type and understandability, actionability, clarity, and reading grade level; and (4) potential strategies to improve public health messaging around COVID-19.

Methods

Based on US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics from June 30, 2020, we identified the ten states with the most COVID-19 cases and selected forty-two materials (i.e., webpages, infographics, and videos) related to COVID-1

SUBMITTER: Mani NS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8485956 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature