Accessibility in Health Communication

Accessibility includes making health information, advice and guidance easy to understand and act on, as well as ensuring that communication channels are intuitive and easy for target audiences to use. You cannot achieve your health communication goals, if the health messages, materials, information or data you’re disseminating are not accessible to your audience.

In this section of the #HealthComm Toolbox, you will find information, tools, and resources for improving:
  • Accessibility compliance
  • Personal and organizational health literacy
  • Plain language
  • Readability
  • Cultural and linguistic competence
  • Usability and user experience

1. Accessibility Compliance Standards and Guidelines in Health Communication

The most common accessibility compliance standards and guidelines include the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (508), and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Complying with these standards and guidelines ensures that health information and communication channels, materials, and content (i.e., website, social media, videos, PDFs, word documents, etc.) are accessible to people with disabilities.
Resources for Accessibility Compliance Standards and Guidelines in Health Communication
These tools and resources will help you to understand the various standards and guidelines, as well as how to implement them in your health communication:

2. Health Literacy

Healthy People 2030 defines personal health literacy as “the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others,” and organizational health literacy as “the degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.” People need information they can understand and use to make the best decisions for their health. Health messages, materials, information or data that are too technical or complex for target audiences to understand and use can negatively impact health status, behaviors, outcomes, and costs.
Resources for Health Literacy
​These resources will help you with your efforts to improve and expand both personal and organizational health literacy.

A) Plain Language for Health Communication

Plain language is language that is clear and easy to understand. According to the Plain Language Action and Information Network, a material or message is plain language if “your audience can find what they need, understand what they find the first time they read or hear it, and use what they find to meet their needs.” Using plain language is a key strategy for promoting health literacy.
Resources for Plain Language for Health Communication
​These tools and resources will help you in your efforts to communicate health messages, information or data in plain language.

B) Readability in Health Communication

Readability is a term used to describe how easily target audiences can read and understand an individual or organization’s writing. Factors that impact readability include the complexity of writing (i.e., sentence length, syllable density, etc.), word familiarity, and the legibility of handwriting, typeface, and font. Conducting public health writing and creating health communication messages and materials for high readability is also a key strategy for promoting health literacy.
Resources for Readability in Health Communication
​These tools and resources will help you in your efforts to assess and improve the readability of your health communication materials.

3. Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Health Communication

Cultural and linguistic competence is the ability to respect, understand, and respond to the language preferences and cultural beliefs and practices of target audiences. Public health professionals must tailor health information, advice and guidance to recognize and account for diversity in culture and language within target audiences. This makes health messages, information and data more accessible; improves the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of health communication; and increases the likelihood of positive behavior change and health outcomes. Additionally, public health organizations must create and integrate attitudes, values, and principles that promote equity, diversity, inclusion, and cultural sensitivity, respect, and knowledge into their organizational standards, policies, and practices.
Resources for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Health Communication
​These tools and resources will help you in your efforts to build cultural and linguistic competence:

4. Usability and User Experience for Health Communication

User experience (UX) refers to how a user perceives, interacts with, and experiences a company or brand, and its messages, materials, products, systems, or services. Usability measures how well a user can use those messages, materials, products, systems, or services to easily and effectively achieve a goal. Improving usability and UX requires having a deep understanding of the wants, needs, values, and abilities of target audiences, and then using that information to create health communication messages, materials, products, systems, or services that are accessible, desirable, credible, and useful.
Resources for Usability and User Experience for Health Communication
​These tools and resources will help you with understanding, assessing, and improving UX and usability:
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