Toward population health literacy, wellbeing, consumer engagement, and information exchange: Developing Omaha System icons for digital platforms

Abstract

In the digital age, it is critical for both healthcare professionals and consumers to electronically express, receive, and process important health information. This is especially true for populations with language barriers and low literacy. Visual literacy and health literacy enable optimal health communication and wellbeing. A standardized interface terminology is a linguistic tool that can be used to convey health information at the human-computer interface. The Omaha System has been evaluated and found to be a promising standard for use as a simple, standardized terminology that may promote health literacy and communication between healthcare professionals and consumers. However, a method for visually representing health concepts described by the Omaha System has not been developed. The purpose of this study was to develop a complete set of 42 icons that convey the meaning of each of the 42 Omaha System problem concepts as defined by Martin (2005). Design thinking, universal design methods, and informal survey evaluations were used to determine appropriate imagery for the icons. Data-based revisions were incorporated after each of three informal survey evaluations. The resulting set of 42 icons for Omaha System problem concepts is available in the public domain. Future plans are to conduct extensive global evaluation of concept validity and usefulness of the icons across literacy levels.

Evaluation of the Omaha System Prototype Icons for Global Health Literacy

“…The icons are available on-line in the public domain [25] for use (acknowledging the Omaha System [17] and the Icons study [18]) in digital platforms such as mobile applications and patient-facing technologies (with acknowledgment of the Omaha System [17] and the Icons study [18]). Research is in progress using the icons in a web-based app and consumer-friendly terms regarding self-identified strengths, challenges, and needs for each of the 42 Omaha System concepts.…”

“…While it is acknowledged that cultural memes are changing with exposure to television and the internet [20], to achieve universal knowledge representation of healthcare concepts, it is critical to understand and transcend differential interpretations across cultures and languages. This goal underlies the rationale for use of the Omaha System icons universally [17,18].…”

“…It has been shown to be amenable to visual representation and useful for consumer communication [17,18,[23][24][25]. Icons representing the Omaha System concepts have been developed, embedded within digital platforms, and are available on-line [25].…”

“…This is especially important for disadvantaged groups that may face digital disparities due to low literacy or other barriers [12][13][14]. To address this need, a collaborative international research team developed prototype icons for 42 Omaha System problem concepts using design thinking principles [14][15][16][17][18]. The icons were intended for universal use in digital platforms by consumers and clinicians across health care systems and jurisdictions to aid in health literacy through visual literacy [18].…”

“…To address this need, a collaborative international research team developed prototype icons for 42 Omaha System problem concepts using design thinking principles [14][15][16][17][18]. The icons were intended for universal use in digital platforms by consumers and clinicians across health care systems and jurisdictions to aid in health literacy through visual literacy [18]. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Omaha System prototype icons which can be interpreted internationally across language users regardless of health literacy level or cultural differences.…”