A full scope web accessibility evaluation procedure proposal based on Iberian eHealth accessibility compliance

Abstract

Internet is becoming one of the most adopted technologies of all times and one of its particular uses concerns the public health issues. The search for health related information and the exchange of experiences and opinions on symptoms and treatments is one of the main activities associated with eHealth websites, hence the need for these websites to be accessible to everybody, including those with some sort of disability. Nevertheless, when assessing the level of the WCAG 2.0 compliance of Iberian eHealth websites, the results achieved during a two stage, one year apart, evaluation indicated that these websites were definitely not accessible. By adding this finding to other similar results achieved by means of similar researches we believe that a new full scope Web accessibility and usability evaluation procedure was needed and is now presented. The referred proposal aims at creating a basis for both organisations and Web developers to understand how to perform an adequate assessment of their websites. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.