The All of Us Research Program
Summary
-
Challenge: AllofUs.nih.gov attracted potential participants and researchers but was not effectively guiding these user groups to enrollment and registration pathways.
-
Role: Lead user researcher responsible for research planning, recruitment strategy, moderation, analysis, and stakeholder recommendations.
-
Methods: Semi-structured interviews and moderated first-click testing with 14 participants across two audience groups.
-
Outcome: Navigation and content changes increased clicks to enroll by 27% and made key participation pages among the site's most visited destinations.
Role and Activities
As the primary researcher on this project, I:
-
Developed the user research plan, recruitment criteria and moderator’s guides and wireframes;
-
Conducted semi-structured interviews combined with first-click testing;
-
Analyzed data, identified insights, developed recommendations and presented to stakeholders.
Background
The National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program aims to collect and study data from one million participants across the United States, and engage researchers to use this data to improve understanding of health and disease.
The program has three public websites:
-
AllofUs.nih.gov is the official “.gov” government website, and represents the program as a whole.
-
ResearchAllofUs.org allows registered researchers to access the database and other research tools.
-
JoinAllofUs.org is the enrollment website for participants.
Because AllofUs.nih.gov ranked highest in search engine results, it was the first entry point for many prospective participants and researchers. Users often needed to navigate from the informational .gov site to separate enrollment and researcher registration sites. The team needed to understand what information users required before they were willing to take the next step.
Business Goals and Objectives
-
Goal : Increase participant enrollment
-
Objective: streamline the user experience between AllofUs.nih.gov and JoinAllofUs.org
-
Objective: drive traffic to JoinAllofUs.org
-
-
Goal: Increase researcher registrations
-
Objective: streamline the user experience between AllofUs.nih.gov and ResearchAllofUs.org
-
Objective: drive traffic to ResearchAllofUs.org
-
Research Questions
-
What will motivate prospective participants to join the program? What reservations or questions do they have? What content would they want to see before they click to join?
-
What will motivate prospective researchers to register with the program? What questions do they have? What content would they want to see before they click to register?
Methods
I conducted remote, semi-structured interviews and first-click testing to understand user motivations, information needs, and reactions to proposed navigation and content.
Why this Approach?
The All of Us program depends on broad representation, so participant recruitment emphasized socioeconomic, geographic, racial, and ethnic diversity. Moderated first-click testing combined with interview questions allowed us to evaluate both navigation labels and the surrounding page content that influenced users' decisions.
Prospective Participant Group Demographics
Selected Insights and Recommendations
Prospective Participant Group
Insights
-
While somewhat intrigued by the program, users in this group did not initially connect with the purpose of the program and were hesitant to join.
-
Users in this group expressed interest in the proposed "Stories" navigation label, explaining that “stories” or “reviews” from current participants that would allow them to connect with the program on a personal level.
-
Prospective participants needed three questions answered before they were willing to continue: Am I eligible? What will I need to do? What will I gain from participating?
“‘Stories’ add that human element that helps a reader connect and relate…. ‘Stories,’ to me, would involve patients or people with health issues that were somehow impacted. When you read stories like that, it
helps you connect.”
“I feel like [content in the 'Stories' section] would have connected the whole premise and mission of this
program for me.”
Recommendations
-
Surface the “Get Involved” page to the top navigation and add a call-to-action on the homepage to help users find this content.
-
Enhance the “Participation” page to better explain eligibility, what participants are expected to do and how they can benefit from the program. Add headings and video content to make the page more scannable and engaging for users who do not read large blocks of text. Revise the copy to speak directly to the target audience using second-person language.
-
Create participant testimonials to increase credibility and help prospective participants connect with the purpose of the program on a more personal level.
Prospective Researcher Group
Insights
-
Users in this group were initially unsure if researchers were a target audience for this website. The “Scientific Opportunities” label in the navigation and call-to-action on the homepage was not clear enough for them.
-
After viewing content on the “Program Overview” and “Scientific Opportunities” pages, users in this program were overwhelmingly interested in registering with the All of Us Research Program.
-
Of the “Program Overview” page content, users found the “How Can All of Us Make a Difference?” section at the bottom of the page most compelling.
Recommendations
-
Revise the “Scientific Opportunities label in the navigation and call-to-action on the homepage to “Opportunities for Researchers” or “Researcher Opportunities.”
-
On the “Program Overview” page, move the “How Can All of Us Make a Difference?” section to the top of the page.
Outcomes
Get Involved
-
A new "Get Involved" call-to-action on the homepage and "Get Involved" section in the top navigation were added to the website, helping guide users to "Participation" and "Opportunities for Researchers" content.
-
The "Get Involved" call-to-action became the most commonly clicked call-to-action after "Join Now."
-
-
The "Scientific Opportunities" label was changed to “Opportunities for Researchers”
-
Following the navigation changes, "Participation" and "Opportunities for Researchers" have consistently ranked in the top five most visited pages on the site (among the homepage, "Program Overview" and "Funding Opportunities").
-
"Get Involved" Button
"Get Involved" Navigation
Participation
-
On the "Participation" page, “Benefits of Taking Part,” “Who Can Join” and “What You Would Need to Do” H2s and descriptions were added to clearly call users’ attention to why they should participate, eligibility and what participation entails.
-
A video called “Why All of Us? Why Now?” was added to the page to better engage users and help viewers quickly connect to the purpose of the program.
-
“Participation” became the most effective page at driving conversions to JoinAllofUs.org, surpassing the homepage (homepage > Join traffic has primarily resulted from program advocates guiding participants through this path at enrollment events).
-
Following these changes, clicks to enroll in the program increased by 27%.
Before
After
Participant Stories and Testimonials
-
Following this study, All of Us has produced a series of participant testimonial videos and a written series called “Voices of All of Us.” This relatable content is intended to help prospective participants connect with the purpose of the program on an emotional level and motivate them to participate.
Participant Testimonial
Voices of All of Us
What I Learned
This project reinforced that users often need emotional and practical reassurance before taking action on a complex health-related program. Combining interviews with first-click testing helped uncover both motivational barriers and navigation issues in a single study, which made the findings more actionable for stakeholders.