Assistive Technology Outcomes and Benefits: Volume 16 Issue 2
Accessible Public Health Materials During a Pandemic: Lessons Learned from COVID-19
This special issue features an innovative communications initiative funded by the CDC Foundation.
The goal of this special issue is to define public health access issues and share best practices, lessons learned and successes to improve the development and dissemination of public health information in general, and specifically as it relates to assisting individuals with disabilities in receiving accurate and actionable information during pandemics.
Over 61 million people in the United States live with a disability. While Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act mandates that Federal agency public-facing electronic communication content be accessible for individuals with some disabilities (e.g., through the use of assistive technology devices that can access information, closed captions available on videos, etc.), the requirements fall short of ensuring that such messages are fully accessible. Alternate formats such as braille, American Sign Language (ASL) videos, and newly developed guidelines to minimize the complexity of text for individuals with limited literacy skills can reduce potential barriers experienced by people in certain disability communities.
This special issue will feature a communications initiative funded by the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Foundation). The project focused on four groups: individuals who are blind and use braille, individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and use ASL, people with limited literacy skills who benefit from simplified text, and those with mobility limitations. Led by the team at Georgia Tech’s Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI), with partners from the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, DeafLink, and the American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD), the project aimed to improve COVID-19 communications and disseminate best practices to ensure that communications are accessible for people with disabilities in future emergency or disaster situations.
Guest Editor: Mark Harniss
Mark Harniss, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Rehabilitation Medicine, Director of the Center for Technology and Disability Studies, and Director of the UW Disability Studies Program. His research focuses on knowledge translation, assistive technology and accessible design. He teaches in both the Disability Studies Program and the Rehabilitation Medicine doctoral program with an emphasis on knowledge translation and disability policy. He is PI of the NIDILRR-funded ADA Knowledge Translation Center. He is co-investigator on the NIDILRR-funded RRTC on Employment of People with Physical Disabilities where he leads a project focused on developing decision aids to support people with disabilities to request reasonable accommodations and co-investigator on a NIDILRR-funded DRRP that is developing an accommodation expert support system for people who are aging.is internationally recognized in the fields of assistive technology, inclusive design, accessibility, and disabilities.
Use the links below to access the complete volume or individual articles.
Individual Articles
Introduction
Introduction to Volume 16 Special Issue 2
Mark Harniss, Ph.D.
University of Washington
Voices from Academia
Minimizing the Complexity of Public Health Documents: Making COVID-19 Documents Accessible to Individuals Who Read Below the Third-Grade Level
Sofia Benson-Goldberg, Ph.D.1, Lori Geist, Ph.D.1, Ben Satterfield, Ed.D.2, Deidra Bunn, SLP2, and Karen Erickson, Ph.D.1
1Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, Department of Allied Health Sciences. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation, Georgia Institute of Technology
A Needs Assessment of COVID-19 Guidance for Adults with Development Disabilities
Ben Satterfield, Ed.D. and Zerrin Ondin, Ph.D.
Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation, College of Design, Georgia Institute of Technology
Voices from Industry
Access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals in Informational and Educational Remote Sessions
Sheryl Ballenger, Ph.D., CPACC
Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation, College of Design, Georgia Institute of Technology
Creating Accessible Infographics: Describing Scientific Data in Ways Everyone Can Understand
James Monroe, BS and Valerie Morrison, Ph.D.
Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation, College of Design, Georgia Institute of Technology
Inclusive Design Thinking for Health Messaging in American Sign Language during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study Brief
Norah Sinclair, M.A., Sheryl Ballenger, Ph.D., CPACC, and Maureen Linden, M.S.
Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation, College of Design, Georgia Institute of Technology
Voices from the Field
Closing the Information Gap: Making COVID-19 Information Accessible for People with Disabilities
Sarah M. Anderson, MPH1, Alina L. Flores, DrPH, MPH2, Laura Z. Baldwin, MPH2, Carolyn P. Phillips, M.Ed.3, and Jennifer Meunier, MPH2
1CDC Foundation
2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
3Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation, College of Design, Georgia Institute of Technology
“Include Me”: Implementing Inclusive and Accessible Communication in Public Health
Alina L. Flores, DrPH, MPH, Jennifer Meunier, MPH, and Georgina Peacock, MD, MPH
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities:
Division of Human Development and Disabilities
Building an Effective Model to Disseminate Accessible COVID-19 Guidance
Elizabeth Persaud, BA, Carolyn P. Phillips, M.Ed., and Patricia Redmon, MBA
Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation, College of Design. Georgia Institute of Technology
The Importance of Braille During a Pandemic and Beyond
Johan Rempel, CVRT, CATIS, CPACC
Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation, College of Design, Georgia Institute of Technology