I have heard the word “Inclusion” quite a bit lately, and I’ve noticed that people seem to be throwing the word around as though everyone knows what it means. Many organizations claim to be inclusive while doing little to actually prove it. This occurs in all industries, but the problem is particularly consequential in health care, where there’s a lot more on the line: patient outcomes and recovery rates.
Inclusivity ties into the idea of health equity, the principle of fairness and justice in health. It involves ensuring that every individual has an equal opportunity to achieve their highest level of health, regardless of social, demographic, or economic factors. But as we all know, that’s easier said than done.
I’ve noticed that, in the latest attempts to improve equity in health care, there has been a renewed focus on communication. It can be difficult to communicate with patients with disabilities. However, healthcare providers must improve their methods because everyone deserves the right to access and understand their information and care options. So it’s time we talk about exploring more accessible communication options, particularly for individuals with visual or hearing impairments.
Legislative requirements
Currently, there are already legally mandated rules on effective communication. The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requires that Title II entities – state and local governments – and Title III entities – businesses and nonprofits – communicate effectively with people who have disabilities. The underlying idea is to ensure that communication with people with disabilities is as effective as communication with people without disabilities.
The purpose of effective communication rules is to ensure that a person with a visual or hearing disability can receive information from any covered organization. Title II and Title III entities are thus required to provide additional aids and services to facilitate that: be it braille signs, alt text, or pictorial graphics.
However, as more services become available online, it’s difficult to keep pace with implementing additional accessibility options. Sure, it’s easy to attach a braille sign to a wall, but do you engage with disabled patients online and in digital information displays?
Designing effective communication
As healthcare facilities switch to digital communication, they must consider ways to make their new communication methods more accessible and inclusive. For instance, digital signage and digital displays are growing in popularity as valuable tools to convey wait times, vaccine updates, and disease outbreaks. But these signs are only as valuable as the size of the audience their messages can reach. Failing to communicate effectively with patients with disabilities will only exacerbate existing health disparities.
So, when crafting digital signage – whether it’s for a doctor’s office waiting room or the ER of a hospital – consider the display itself and the basics of design. While it may sound elementary, think of your font choice. Selecting fonts that are easy to read, such as sans-serif fonts like Arial or Helvetica, goes a long way to making information accessible. These fonts are even approved by the ADA. Moreover, ensure that the font size is large enough for individuals with visual impairments to read comfortably.
It’s also important to extend display times. Healthcare providers should avoid content that changes rapidly or is time-limited, which may be difficult for individuals with impairments.
In other words, don’t flash through highly saturated screens every five or ten seconds. I know this gives me a headache, and my vision is just fine. I can’t imagine what it’s like for people with vision or reading difficulties trying to make sense of important health information on a screen changing at light speed. Or even just for patients whose second language is English.
So in general, aim for high contrast backgrounds, simple but informative language, and slow display times to enhance readability, and incorporate both a visual and auditory element, perhaps a button that will read the alt text aloud when pressed.
On the tactile front, while it may be hard to fathom, you can also implement braille keyboards for changing digital displays. These innovative keyboards modify the raised dots on the surface according to the current output. This dynamic feature results in messaging that is changing and adaptable, allowing the braille text to change alongside the content displayed on the digital screen.
Bringing accessibility up to speed
In short, any digital communication form must include auditory, visual, and tactile ways to display and communicate the information. It’s a legal requirement, and frankly, it’s also just the right thing to do. This includes telemedicine services, text messages with appointment updates, and access to electronic health records (EHR).
From where I sit, I think healthcare providers need to get innovative and talk to patients openly and honestly, engaging people with disabilities in the design and testing process of digital communication forms. Their insights and feedback can help identify and address potential accessibility barriers.
Remember, you won’t know until you ask. That is really what underlines the idea of inclusion – including people from all walks of life in the process, from start to finish.
About Rolando Irizarry
Rolando Irizarry’s career spans more than 25 years in healthcare. Prior to joining Spectrio, Rolando served as the marketing leader for Community Health Systems, MedStar Health, The George Washington University Hospital System and Miami Children’s Hospital. Rolando has worked on a number of successful healthcare marketing and communications campaigns that significantly increased market share, grew revenue and promoted patient education. He has also served as Adjunct Professor for Johns Hopkins University and The George Washington University School of business.
