Social Media Accessibility

Background:  The WHO’s “World Report on Disability” found 15 percent–more than a billion people—of the world’s population is disabled. Those individuals generally experience greater health inequality, lower education, higher poverty rates, and less opportunity than those without disabilities−due in large part to everyday obstacles and lack of services.  As the population ages and more individuals live with chronic health conditions, those numbers are only projected to increase.  To further the public health mission, staff must go where their audiences are and communicate in a manner that encourages participation from individuals of all abilities and, increasingly, this outreach includes social media. Accessibility ensures disabled individuals, who are often most in need of government health services, can operate more independently and receive the information they need−especially as we see social media play more crucial roles in emergency and critical communication efforts. Technology has bridged the divide for millions.  But as digital communications continue to expand with the advance of social media, we risk alienating those individuals most in need of public health services unless we take simple steps to ensure posts meet accessibility standards outlined by Section 508.   Pew research shows one third of online adults have used a blog, social network, video, or text message to get government information. Within that group, minority and low-income individuals particularly deem these forms of outreach very important. This changing online behavior has empowered more active conversations surrounding health including diagnosis, treatment, and preventive care. Leveraging social tools can assist public health personnel to engage audiences to better monitor data, personalize experiences, and help people take active roles in their health care.  

Program background:  Attendees will learn the keys of accessible content and review case studies of accessible social media within the public health sector. From Facebook to Twitter and YouTube to Google+, best practices will be pulled from social media channels to provide a broad understanding of accessible content. 

Evaluation Methods and Results:  This session highlights accessibility within the social media landscape, and shares practical guidance for making social media content accessible, including: -          Structuring social media accounts -          Composing accessible tweets and social networking status updates -          Developing alt text, captions, and transcripts -          Selecting accessible blogging tools and publishing posts -          Incorporating accessible content into digital channels

Conclusions: 

Social media is a significant part of communication and no longer exists on the edges. Health practitioners and individuals use social media to share valuable information from emergency messages and breaking health news, to behavioral tips and service offerings. It’s critical to take advantage of existing tools and couple those with accessible posts, tweets, status updates, infographics and multimedia to improve lives, remove barriers, provide correct health information, and assist all individuals in making informed health decisions.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Using existing guidelines, simple modifications can be made to current social media content to ensure it is useful for all. The tips and tools provided can continue to bridge gaps for an increasing population of disabled individuals and ensure service missions are not only met, but exceeded.