Abstract
The NIHSeniorHealth.gov website has provided information about healthcare topics thought to be of particular interest to older adults for over ten years. The site was designed with the needs and constraints of older adult users in mind. However, realizing that the interests, expectations, and Internet proficiency of older adults continue to evolve, the National Institute on Aging (NIA), which manages the site content, and the National Library of Medicine (NLM), which implements and maintains the site, embarked on an extensive refresh of NIHSeniorHealth.gov over the last several years. An important focus of this update was the user experience (UX) of the site. The authors of this poster presentation were part of a team that supported this refresh effort by conducting a series of usability tests with representative users and offering design recommendations based on the test results as well as best practices in web user interface design. The refresh effort focused on matching the UX to needs, skills, and preferences of older adults. Since this update, the site has experienced a major resurgence of use as measured by web analytics and customer satisfaction ratings.
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