National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Website and Materials

NCCAM

Since 2001, Westat has developed and maintained the NCCAM website and NCCAM intranet based on information architecture best practices for the target audiences. In 2004, Prevention Magazine recognized the public website as Best Alternative Medicine Site. That same year, the site won a Silver Award in the Fall/Winter World Wide Web Health Awards.

The standards-compliant website uses cascading style sheets (CSS) for simple content updates, and search engine optimization and web writing techniques to generate higher search results. Ongoing enhancements to design and functionality are made in response to periodic usability testing and regular analysis of user comments and web log statistics. Current features include

• Streamlined portal page content;
• Enhanced site navigation;
• Quick links to commonly sought content;
• Integration with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn;
• Content-sharing widgets;
• A YouTube channel of Section 508-compliant videos; and
• Content syndication via mobile devices and RSS readers.

Westat drafts and/or edits evidence-based content for healthcare professionals and consumers based on trends in web traffic, social media conversations, public inquiry requests, and the state of the science. Materials include fact sheets on being an informed consumer; overviews of complementary health practices; research spotlights on the latest study findings; and the NCCAM Clinical Digest, a monthly electronic newsletter for healthcare providers. A popular product is the Herbs at a Glance series, which provides basic information about specific herbs and botanicals such as its uses and potential side effects.