Are your website visitors struggling with health information?
43% of adults in England struggle with low health literacy, and this hidden barrier could be harming your business. Discover why accessible online content is crucial for patient engagement and better outcomes, plus practical tips to make your digital services truly inclusive.
What is health literacy?
Health literacy is the ability to find, understand, and use health information to make informed decisions about care. It's not just about reading ability – it encompasses understanding medical terms, navigating healthcare systems, interpreting numbers and statistics, and feeling confident enough to ask questions and engage with healthcare providers.
The World Health Organisation describes health literacy as "the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand, and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health."
The Scale of the Problem
The statistics are sobering. 43% of adults in England struggle with low health literacy, and that number jumps to 61% when the information includes numbers as well as words. Around 10 million adults in the UK lack health literacy, creating what the NHS describes as a crisis that directly impacts people's health outcomes.
This isn't just an abstract problem – it's affecting your patients right now. In the UK, over 7.1 million adults read and write at or below the level of a primary school child, which means many of your patients may struggle to understand basic health information, medication instructions, or treatment options.
How does mental health affect health literacy?
In mental healthcare, the stakes are particularly high. Patients often come to you during vulnerable moments, dealing with complex emotions and conditions that can already impact their ability to process information. When you add low health literacy to the mix, the barriers to effective care multiply.
Consider a patient with depression who receives a prescription for antidepressants. If they can't understand the medication information, potential side effects, or why consistency matters, they're less likely to take the medication as prescribed. They might stop taking it when they don't feel better immediately, or they might not recognise that the initial side effects are temporary.
The Digital Divide
The shift towards online mental health services has created new opportunities but also new challenges. Around 30% of people not using digital services are thought to do so because they feel that NHS digital services aren't accessible to them. This particularly affects older adults, people with disabilities, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds – groups that often have higher rates of mental health conditions.
When online therapy platforms, appointment booking systems, or patient portals use complex language or assume high levels of digital literacy, they inadvertently exclude the very people who might benefit most from accessible mental health care.
Impact on patient engagement and outcomes
Patient participation has great practical value in achieving better health outcomes among those who actively participate in healthcare decisions compared to those who do not. However, meaningful participation requires understanding. When people don’t fully understand their treatment options, they often struggle to make informed care decisions.
Research shows that lower health literacy was associated with worse physical health and depression, creating a vicious cycle where poor health literacy contributes to worse mental health outcomes, which in turn can further impair a person's ability to engage with their care.
People with low health literacy are more likely compared with the general population to experience poor health, more long-term illness and shorter lives. In mental health care, this translates to:
Higher rates of treatment dropout
Increased emergency department visits
Poor medication adherence
Difficulty recognising warning signs of deteriorating mental health
Reduced engagement with therapy and self-care strategies
How to create accessible online heath content
As mental health services increasingly move online, creating accessible content isn't just good practice – it's essential for effective care. Here are a few ways to make your digital presence more accessible:
Use Plain English
Clinical language and terminology is vital in many settings. But people must understand what they’re being told. Replace jargon with everyday language. Instead of "therapeutic intervention," say "treatment." Instead of "comorbidity," say "having more than one condition."
Structure information clearly
Large volumes of dense text can be overwhelming an inaccessible to many. Use headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs. Break complex information into digestible chunks.
Include visual elements
Infographics, videos, and illustrations can help explain concepts that are difficult to understand through text alone.
Test readability
The GOV.UK best practice guidance for writing content recommends creating content for a maximum reading age of nine. Free online tools can help you check this.
Provide multiple formats
Offer information in videos, audio recordings, and written formats to accommodate different learning preferences.
How can accessibility affect outcomes?
Improving health literacy isn't just about doing the right thing – it makes practical sense too. Health illiteracy has a stronger correlation to poor health than education level, deprivation, age or ethnicity, meaning that addressing it can have a significant impact on patient outcomes.
Better health literacy leads to:
Improved treatment adherence
Reduced appointment cancellations
Fewer crisis interventions
Better therapeutic relationships
Improved patient satisfaction scores
How to take action
With appropriate knowledge and training, healthcare professionals can successfully integrate health literacy communication strategies into their practice. The same applies to mental health professionals.
Start by auditing your current materials – both online and offline. Ask yourself: Would someone with limited health literacy be able to understand this? Can they easily find what they need? Would they feel confident taking the next step in their care?
Consider involving patients in this process. They can provide valuable feedback on what works and what doesn't from their perspective.
For more guidance on improving health literacy in your practice, NHS Health Education England and The NIHR provide excellent resources.
Ready to make your mental health practice more accessible?
Creating health-literate content and websites requires expertise in both healthcare communication and digital marketing.
With years of industry experience, we understand the unique challenges of communicating complex mental health information in accessible ways. From website content that engages patients to SEO strategies that help the right people find your services, we can help you build a digital presence that truly serves your clients and patients.
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