Benefits of a Mobile First Approach to Public Health

Issue

Mobile has emerged as a primary communication channel for health information. Pew Research Center data indicates at least three-quarters of all health inquiries begin at a search engine and more than half of all health searches are done on mobile devices. Public health information must be available to mobile devices.

Description

Creating and maintaining a mobile experience for users is an imperative. But with the diversity of devices and ways that people access that information, how does one prioritize content in a way that works for all users, regardless of whether they are mobile, tablet, desktop or even wearable seekers of health information?

AIDS.gov has relied on a mobile first approach to content development and our technical platforms, which include a clinic locator, blog, basic HIV information, and resources on using new media. Through this mobile first approach, we now see more than 60% of our traffic coming from mobile devices.

Lessons Learned

This session will cover specific techniques and tools we use to guide our mobile first approach and demonstrate benefits of prioritizing the mobile audience. We will demonstrate outcomes of prioritizing mobile use cases and tasks and identify key technical and design decisions.

Recommendations

Prioritize health information for mobile users as benefits will accrue to all seekers of health information.