How well are health information websites displayed on mobile phones? Implications for the readability of health information.

Issue addressed More than 87% of Australians own a mobile phone with Internet access and 82% of phone owners use their smartphones to search for health information, indicating that mobile phones may be a powerful tool for building health literacy. Yet, online health information has been found to be above the reading ability of the general population. As reading on a smaller screen may further complicate the readability of information, this study aimed to examine how health information is displayed on mobile phones and its implications for readability. Methods Using a cross-sectional design with convenience sampling, a sample of 270 mobile webpages with information on 12 common health conditions was generated for analysis, they were categorised based on design and position of information display. Results The results showed that 71.48% of webpages were mobile-friendly but only 15.93% were mobile-friendly webpages designed in a way to optimise readability, with a paging format and queried information displayed for immediate viewing. Conclusion With inadequate evidence and lack of consensus on how webpage design can best promote reading and comprehension, it is difficult to draw a conclusion on the effect of current mobile health information presentation on readability. So what? Building mobile-responsive websites should be a priority for health information providers and policy-makers. Research efforts are urgently required to identify how best to enhance readability of mobile health information and fully capture the capabilities of mobile phones as a useful device to increase health literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]