Using Evidence-Based Health Literacy Assessments to Improve State Paid Family and Medical Leave Program Websites

How understandable, easy to navigate and actionable are paid family and medical leave (PFML) program websites for workers and their families ?

More and more states are implementing PFML programs, but not all eligible workers use these benefits, especially lower-wage, younger, Black and Hispanic workers. As states invest more resources in outreach to raise awareness about PMFL, it is also critical to understand and address the challenges workers face in accessing the program once they know about it. Workers mainly access benefits through state websites that provide program information and a portal to submit paperwork. If these websites are difficult to understand and too burdensome to use, PFML use will remain low, and workers and families will miss out on this important program.

In this study, we used evidence-based health literacy assessments to determine the degree to which program information presented on PFML websites can be accessed, understood and used by the average U.S. worker in order for them to make decisions about PFML.  

We found that understanding state PFML websites require literacy skills that far exceed those of the average U.S. worker. For example, college-level reading skills are needed to comprehend much of PFML website content. Multiple assessment tools showed that the complexity of program information and the setup of PFML websites do not match the literacy skills of the average adult worker, creating a significant burden on workers trying to secure PFML benefits. 

Read the brief.