Search and Navigation

When navigating a website, users with limited literacy skills tend to:

• Get distracted by extra words and elements of a website like links and icons

• Navigate in a linear fashion and backtrack frequently

• Choose the first answer they find, without checking if it’s correct—and have a hard time telling the difference between high- and low-quality information

• Have trouble recovering from mistakes

When reading, users with limited literacy skills focus on the center of the screen. Once they shift their focus from the navigation to the center of the screen, they’re unlikely to look back to the navigation to solve a problem or change course if the content isn’t meeting their needs.

Understanding How Essential Workers Navigate Vaccine Information OnlineMedium

How do people currently navigate information about how they will get a vaccine and learn about their eligibility?

• Top three search takeaways:

  • Search 1: Multiple searches, vague information, PDF downloads, and no answer

  • Search 2: State government and public health websites that highlight a prioritization framework, with no current details on next steps

  • Search 3: Going straight to workplace resources or to your primary care provider

• Top query searches from English speakers:

  • "Where can I get vaccinated in my county?"

  • “When can I get the covid vaccine?”

  • “When am i scheduled to get the covid vaccine massachusetts”

  • “When do Americans get vaccines?”

  • “When will 1b group get vaccine”

• Location of searches ranked from the highest influence and highest usage to lowest influence and usage:

  • State gov website

  • CDC

  • Health center

  • Public school website

  • Google’s common question accordion tool

  • BBC News

  • AARP, NY Times

• Residents' next steps after searching for vaccine information online and offline:

  • Try again search in early spring

  • Talk to their main health provider with personal experience

  • Make a decision depending on the general public flow

  • Talk to their employer