Decision support on healthfinder.gov: Supporting informed decision-making about preventive services through a health education website and social media community

Background: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) covers numerous preventive services and offers many benefits, yet many of them are unknown by the general public. healthfinder.gov is a user-tested federal Web site whose mission is to help the public make informed health decisions by providing accurate, timely, and actionable information. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion updated healthfinder.gov to incorporate decision support for the clinical preventive services covered by the new health care law, and developed a social media strategy to increase the use of these decision support services. Methods: In Fall of 2011, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion developed and followed a strategic plan to implement decision support services that would expand its reach and engagement with the public, and increase their familiarity with preventive offerings covered under the ACA. The healthfinder.gov Twitter account and Facebook page serve as the online communities for supporting the public in setting personal wellness goals and making appropriate health decisions. The services are evaluated according to their return on investment. ROI is determined by dividing the number of people reached and engaged in health care reform prevention decision support by the cost of providing this service. Results: As of February 2012, ODPHP had achieved its initial goal of increasing ROI by 45%. Conclusion: This strategy serves as an ongoing case study of meaningful and cost-effective ways to engage users in interactions that produce informed decision-making about prevention and wellness services and information.