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Accessibility Analysis of Worldwide COVID-19-Related Information Portals

Author

Listed:
  • Patricia Acosta-Vargas

    (Intelligent and Interactive Systems Laboratory, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito 170125, Ecuador
    Carrera de Ingeniería en Producción Industrial, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito 170125, Ecuador
    Facultad de Tecnologías de Información, Universidad Latina de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica)

  • Sylvia Novillo-Villegas

    (Intelligent and Interactive Systems Laboratory, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito 170125, Ecuador
    Carrera de Ingeniería en Producción Industrial, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito 170125, Ecuador
    Facultad de Tecnologías de Información, Universidad Latina de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica)

  • Belén Salvador-Acosta

    (Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito 170125, Ecuador)

  • Manuel Calvopina

    (One Health Research Group, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170125, Ecuador)

  • Nikolaos Kyriakidis

    (One Health Research Group, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170125, Ecuador)

  • Esteban Ortiz-Prado

    (One Health Research Group, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170125, Ecuador)

  • Luis Salvador-Ullauri

    (Department of Software and Computing Systems, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Patricia Acosta-Vargas & Sylvia Novillo-Villegas & Belén Salvador-Acosta & Manuel Calvopina & Nikolaos Kyriakidis & Esteban Ortiz-Prado & Luis Salvador-Ullauri, 2022. "Accessibility Analysis of Worldwide COVID-19-Related Information Portals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-15, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12102-:d:924185
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yu, Sarah Yanyue, 2021. "A review of the accessibility of ACT COVID-19 information portals," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Elena Fernández-Díaz & Patricia P. Iglesias-Sánchez & Carmen Jambrino-Maldonado, 2020. "Exploring WHO Communication during the COVID 19 Pandemic through the WHO Website Based on W3C Guidelines: Accessible for All?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Eva Gorgenyi-Hegyes & Robert Jeyakumar Nathan & Maria Fekete-Farkas, 2021. "Workplace Health Promotion, Employee Wellbeing and Loyalty during Covid-19 Pandemic—Large Scale Empirical Evidence from Hungary," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-22, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Domenica Ramírez-Saltos & Patricia Acosta-Vargas & Gloria Acosta-Vargas & Marco Santórum & Mayra Carrion-Toro & Manuel Ayala-Chauvin & Esteban Ortiz-Prado & Verónica Maldonado-Garcés & Mario González-, 2023. "Enhancing Sustainability through Accessible Health Platforms: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-38, November.

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