Health Communication Design for Low-income and Low-literacy People in China - Designers as a core organizer contributing the whole process
Creators: name: Zhang, Linli
Publisher: name: Lancaster University
Year: 2024
Subjects: health communication design
health design
low-income
low-literacy
China

description: Health communication design has attracted increasing research attention in
 recent years. When designed effectively, health information can be
 disseminated to specific groups and bring major benefits by promoting
 healthy behaviours. In mainland China, the maternal and child health (MCH)
 communications sector has thrived as a result of the steady relaxation of
 the country’s fertility policy (from the abolition of the one-child policy
 in 2015 to the implementation of the three-child policy in 2021). There is
 now an abundance of products related to health knowledge dissemination, as
 well as the emergence of internet influencers discussing health issues. In
 the field of academia, research in this area primarily focuses on specific
 health issues, such as obesity, cervical cancer, diabetes etc., and mainly
 adopts a medical research perspective. Design research in this field often
 focuses on the quality of graphic design and users’ experience of
 communication artefacts. However, the primary focus of such studies tends
 to be on middle-class, well-educated, urban users. As a result, the needs
 of low-literacy and low-income users tend to be largely overlooked, both
 in research and in communication product development. 
 
 This study investigated the development of the dissemination of MCH
 knowledge designed for low-income and low-literacy groups within the
 context of mainland China. Focusing on this demographic, the study
 examined three main components: health behaviour, health needs, and the
 design and development status. The outcome of the research was the
 development of health communication strategies and recommendations
 tailored to the social and cultural circumstances of low-income and
 low-literacy Chinese users in non-urban communities. These strategies are
 informed by preliminary research on the influence of culture and social
 environment on the ways in which low-income, low-literacy people perceive
 health issues and adopt health behaviours. Methodologically, three types
 of qualitative methods were applied. Firstly, questionnaires were employed
 to understand the general health preferences of different groups (based on
 gender, age, marriage status, etc.). Secondly, semi-structured interviews
 were conducted to uncover the specific motivations behind certain health
 behaviours and users’ opinions on existing MCH strategies/designs.
 Finally, users’ preferences for MCH design products were explored in
 practice in three co-design workshops.
 
 The discussion starts with analysis in the context of the preferences and
 behaviours of low-income, low-literacy participants based on survey
 results. These aspects were subsequently analysed. The findings indicate a
 preference for social media rather than specific apps to access health
 information, as well as feelings of doubt and distrust regarding the
 health information to which users are exposed, especially when
 disseminated through commercial platforms. Finally, possible strategies
 and media design directions for MCH communication are discussed based on
 analysis of the outcomes of three co-design workshops conducted with the
 target audience. 
 
 The main output of this research is the proposal of a health communication
 framework, which revolves around three dimensions: designer attitudes,
 cultural inclusion, and visual design. 
 
 Keywords: health communication design; health design; low-income;
 low-literacy; China