An international trial of an interactive website designed for people with low health literacy

Abstract

Background: This international study aimed to address how people with lower levels of health literacy engage with digital interventions by developing and testing a web-based intervention to promote physical activity in people with Type 2 diabetes. Our objective was to determine whether audio-visual presentation and interactivity could increase accessibility for people with varied health literacy levels. Method: Participants from UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Taiwan were randomised to either interactive or static web-materials. Measures included: intervention usage; health literacy; enablement; attitudes and intentions towards physical activity (based on Theory of Planned Behaviour). Findings: To date, 791 people have taken part (trial ends March 2015). Initial analyses of UK data (n = 312) suggests that people with low health literacy spend significantly longer on the intervention, but there is no difference between participants with high and low health literacy in terms of satisfaction or enablement. These findings will be tested in the international data. Discussion: Early data provides encouraging indications that it is possible to design a digital intervention that is valued by people with all health literacy levels.