I view it as the responsibility of medical information management professionals to ensure that medical information is accessible regardless of screen size or user ability. Medical information that is available online is often published in a way that makes true public access difficult. Missing metadata, inaccessible file types, improper HTML structure, and desktop-first design practices inadvertently shut out users navigating the web for multiple reasons. Educating medical information management professionals to be responsible web content stewards is the avenue toward inclusivity and accessibility for all.
The majority of people navigating the internet utilize mobile phones. This is due to the affordability and accessibility of the hardware and software in comparison to traditional computing technologies like laptops and desktop computers. People with disabilities often utilize assistive technology like screen readers to access content. People navigating the web with mobile technology or that are disabled will not have easy access to information featured on an inaccessible doc/pdf file or an improperly structured piece of web content. Unfortunately, these formatting decisions create discriminative barriers to many groups of people by denying them information that is available to wealthier or more traditionally abled groups.
I view medical information as a powerful tool that assists people in being able to seek medical care based on concrete, scientific knowledge. This means it is essential to train content creators and managers to (1) always include proper tagging and HTML/CSS structure when creating web content; and (2) consider screen size and file formatting when publishing information digitally. Teaching these basic skill sets to all content management system users will ensure that as much public medical information as possible is available. This will ensure that all people can effectively research their symptoms, conditions, medical history, and available treatments as desired. I hope this will improve medical literacy and make it easier for medical professionals and patients to have a dialogue about care.
Brynne Schweigel 