The tremendous growth of health information on the World Wide Web in recent years has created an unprecedented resource for consumers and providers. However, many of these online resources may not be fully accessible to certain populations because specific design considerations were not implemented when they were created. Some people may not be able to access content on many Web sites because of a physical disability, special Web browsers and readers used, older equipment and software, slow Internet connections, and other factors. The Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium has published consensus guidelines for enhancing the accessibility of sites for disabled persons and other groups. Based on these guidelines, standards for ensuring the accessibility of all Federal government Web sites were issued in December 2000 under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. This presentation will explore ways to enhance the accessibility of health Web sites for all audiences. Examples of Web sites that are more and less accessible will be reviewed. Techniques to enhance content accessibility include: adding “text equivalents” for every image, providing summary text for information represented by graphics, making sure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, and providing row and column headers for data tables. Other methods of designing and modifying Web sites to make them more accessible to disabled and other audiences will be discussed. In addition, online resources for assessing and addressing accessibility issues will be presented. See www.evalumetrix.com
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to: Describe the importance of ensuring user accessibility to health Web site content. Identify the key elements of Web sites that are accessible to disabled and other select audiences. Identify three methods and resources that can be used to improve the accessibility of health Web sites.
Keywords: World Wide Web, Disability
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: EvaluMetrix LLC
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I am the President of EvaluMetrix LLC, an eHealth consulting company that helps other companies and organizations improve their Web sites.