We will go one step further with this argument: Addressing web accessibility problems can improve the health information-seeking experiences for everyone—for people with disabilities and for people without disabilities.

Alicia Mason, Josh Compton, & Sakshi Bhati

With recognition of (1) unmet health information needs of persons with disabilities; and (2) anticipated growth of the persons with disabilities population, we seek to better understand the relative general accessibility of health information on popular, highly ranked health websites. That is, instead of examining the efficacy and impact of specific types of health message appeals, the present investigation assesses the functional performance of specific content platforms of health websites. We examine the components of accessing and understanding health information through the lens of web and language accessibility, readability, and mobility. A total of 139 health-focused websites were randomly sampled from the Alexa® “Top Sites” global ranking system which uses web traffic data to rank the most popular websites. The sample was processed using computer aided software (e.g., WEB AIM, Web FX & Google Test My Site.) We found 91.3% of sampled home pages had detectable accessibility failures. The most common accessibility failures were low contrast, empty links, missing ALT text, empty buttons, and missing form labels. Most websites offered neither an accessibility policy statement nor an option for automated language translation service, likely impacting those with limited English proficiency (LEP). The implications for these findings are reviewed with discussion and limitations provided.

Mason, A., Compton, J., & Bhati, S. (2021). Disabilities and the digital divide: Assessing web accessibility, readability, and mobility of popular health websites. Journal of Health Communication. doi:10.1080/10810730.2021.1987591

Full-text link: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/HKWB6P5XB8R8AEYMI7C6/full?target=10.1080/10810730.2021.1987591