UX writing for a health topic page
Problem
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) publishes global health research and employs research teams that conduct extensive statistical analysis and publish academic papers. The website reflected the internal jargon and technical language used within the organization.
However, the target audience for the organization’s research is policymakers, whom largely do not have scientific training. They need high level statistics to make decisions and supporting key points.
The language was academic, complex, and the web copy, though short, was dense.
Copy was difficult to scan and research findings were in documents or across multiple pages. This problem was persistent across all the research topic pages so they were all rewritten, but I’m focusing on the alcohol page as an example.
Design challenge
How might we elevate the key findings in alcohol research that will help policymakers make decisions about health programs quickly and easily?
User needs
Policy influencers
Politicians aren’t the direct users of IHME’s website. They have staff researchers and advisors that harvest the information they need and make recommendations to move forward.
They need high level statistics of the problem and outcomes in clear, plain language that can be understood globally or easily processed in automatic translators like Google or using ChatGPT.
They want outcomes and lessons learned in nearby regions to that could apply to their health outcomes.
They want graphs and charts to easily build their recommendations.
Academic experts
IHME contributes to a global body of research on health topics. They maintain collaborations with universities
Academics want the latest academic papers and direct access to datasets to manipulate it themselves for their own projects.
Alcohol copy before rewrite
Alcohol use is a well-known risk factor for certain conditions, such as cirrhosis of the liver, fetal alcohol syndrome, and injuries related to drunk driving. Alcohol consumption can also contribute to chronic illnesses like heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. Interpersonal violence, self-harm (suicide), and unintentional injuries can also be fueled by alcohol.
Globally, alcohol use is a major risk factor for death and disability overall, ranked among dietary risks, high blood pressure, smoking, and household air pollution. In some countries, alcohol use is the number-one risk factor for men. Explore the contribution of alcohol to diseases and injuries in our GBD Compare data visualization.
“Before”
You can see at-a-glance the copy is brief and high-level It isn’t revealing statistics or research findings for the policymakers audience.
Alcohol copy after rewrite
Alcohol use is a major risk factor for death and disability worldwide. It is ranked among other risks such as high blood pressure, smoking, and dietary risks. In some countries, alcohol use is the number one risk factor for men.
1.34 Billion people consumed harmful amounts of alcohol in 2020
49.3% of cirrhosis and other liver diseases are attributable to alcohol use
2.4 Million deaths were attributable to alcohol use disorders in 2019
76.7% of people who consumed harmful amounts of alcohol were male
How much alcohol is safe to drink?
The risks of drinking alcohol depend on age, local disease patterns, and underlying health conditions:
For young adults ages 15–39, there are no health benefits to drinking alcohol, only health risks.
For people over age 40, drinking a small amount of alcohol may provide some health benefits.
Young people tend to experience a higher rate of injuries as a consequence of excessive alcohol use, leading to an increase in death and disability for that age group.
“After”
Key facts are higlighted for policymakers and the content is written to answer specific questions.
UX writing process
As a trained UX designer, I follow a similar process for content to that of a UX design process.
Understanding the goals and needs of the audience:
I reviewed our persona for policy influencers based on primary research and their key tasks, or Jobs to be Done.
I facilitated a working session with the research team to fill in our knowledge gaps with an empathy map.
I gathered common questions the alcohol team was asked from public inquires via email.
I reviewed existing content to rewrite and generate new content based on the aforementioned activities in collaboration with the research team.
We collaborated on a draft in a Word document.
I transferred the content to a Figma file and annotated it for development.
How do I know the copy helped our target audiences?
The redesigned copy was released at the end of July 2023. I monitored our analytics and visual heat maps, which showed increased views and interactions. This was already expected because we consolidated content as well as rewrote content. Interactions were going to be higher no matter what with less pages to find the same information.
I also saw increases in unique visitors and returning visitors, increasing by 30%. I believe this means the rewrite made the content more discoverable by search engines.
There was also about a 15% increase in the usage of our alcohol datasets in IHME’s public data catalog.
Heat map showing where users are hovering and clicking
