Accessibility Analysis of Worldwide Covid-19-Related Information Portals

Bibliographic Data

ID15513771
AuthorsPatricia Acosta-Vargas (0000-0003-4210-0117, Universidad de Las Américas, corresponding author), Sylvia Novillo-Villegas (0000-0002-7659-6846, Universidad de Las Américas), Belén Salvador-Acosta (0000-0002-3535-3469, Universidad de Las Américas), Manuel Calvopiña (0000-0002-0286-0747, Universidad de Las Américas), Nikolaos C Kyriakidis (0000-0003-1382-5661, Universidad de Las Américas), Esteban Ortiz-Prado (0000-0002-1895-7498, Universidad de Las Américas), Luis Salvador-Ullauri (0000-0001-6348-7870, University of Alicante)
Year2022
Volume19
Issue19
Pages12102-12102
Publication date2022-09-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph191912102
PMID36231402
OpenAlexW4297235676
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited10

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, communication technology has demonstrated its usefulness in sharing and receiving health data and communicating with the public. This study evaluated the accessibility of 199 websites containing official COVID-19 information related to medical schools, governments, ministries, and medical associations, obtained from the Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research website. We used the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 to evaluate web accessibility, using a six-phase process with an automatic review tool. The study results reveal that the highest number of barriers encountered are concentrated in the perceivable principle with 6388 errors (77.8%), followed by operability with 1457 (17.7%), then robustness with 291 (3.5%), and finally understandability with 78 errors (0.9%). This study concludes that most COVID-19-related websites that provide information on the context of the pandemic do not have an adequate level of accessibility. This study can contribute as a guide for designing inclusive websites; web accessibility should be reviewed periodically due to technological advances and the need to adapt to these changes

Context (archaeology · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Geography · Internet privacy · Operability · Pandemic · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Digital Accessibility for Disabilities · E-Learning and Knowledge Management · Medicine · Public Health and Environmental Issues

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access