Disability and Health

Guidelines: Making Health Settings & Information Accessible

The Disability and Health Team supports the development of guidelines for making Emergency Preparedness | Fitness and Recreation | Primary Care | Health Communication | Conferences/Meetings more accessible to people with disabilities. Tools/Checklists and other Weblinks are provided below.

Accessible is a term that describes the usability of a product or service by people with disabilities.

Universal Design is a term that describes the designing products and environments that everyone can use regardless of body dimension, age, or disability status. Employing universal design from the onset prevents the need to retrofit environments and in most cases eases confined spaces and makes objects easier to interact with for everyone. This type of design and construct requires some consideration. For guidance on accessible and universal designs, please contact the:

• Center for Universal Design in North Carolina

• National Center on Accessibility in Indiana

• Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access in New York

• Access Board in D.C.

• Fair Housing Act Design Manual U.S. Department of Housing

• U.S. Department of Justice in D.C.

• AIMFREE Tool measures accessibility of fitness facilities

• ADA Self-Evaulation Checklist measures accessibility of hotels and motels

• Evaluating the Universal Design Performance of Products

• Craig Hospital Inventory of Environmental Factors
   

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• Removing Barriers produced by the North Carolina Office on Disability & Health

• Disability Etiquette Handbook by the San Antonio Planning Department

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• ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments, Chapter 7 Emergency Management and Shelters is available at http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7emergencymgmt.htm  http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7emergencymgmtadd1.htm  www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/pcatoolkit/chap7shelterprog.htm http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7shelterchk.htm 
  This document offers guidelines and solutions for access for ALL in emergencies and disasters.

• The Emergency Evacuation of People With Physical Disabilities From Buildings: 2004 Conference Proceedings
  This document summarizes the Interagency Subcommittee on Technology's workshop held on October 13-14, 2004 which provided a forum for discussion on research recommendations to improve available data, building and life safety codes, evacuation technologies, and evacuation practices for people with physical disabilities. Wide dissemination of this document is encouraged.

• Disaster Resources for People with Disabilities and Emergency Managers (Updated 09/29/07) by June Issacson Kailes provides mulitple references and links for emergency planning and response.

• Several Emergency Evacuation Preparedness Resources are available on this site.

• The National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.) launched the Emergency Preparedness Initiative (EPI) to ensure that emergency managers address disability concerns and that people with disabilities are included in the emergency planning process.

• An Emergency Planning Guide for facilitates that serve populations with special needs is available from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross.

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• National Toy Adaptation Network: With the support of the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation, Allied Services in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania established the National Toy Adaptation Network. The Network members provide specialty services in adapting toys for kids with disabilities. Technicians work with parents and therapists to customize toys: adding extended control handles, seat lift devices, velcro safety straps, specialized controls, whatever it takes to make that toy safe and enjoyable for the child - all done for free. For a contact in your area or more information, please click on the link or call 1-888-FIX-A-TOY or Allied Services at 717.348.1300.

• National Lekotek Center in Chicago, IL is a non-profit organization with a national network of 50 affiliates that promote access to play for children with special needs, and access to supportive services for their families. For more information on toys, play and technology for children with disabilities, please click on the link or call the Lekotek Toy Resource Helpline at 800-366-PLAY.

• Toys R US Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids:  In partnership with Toys R US, the National Lekotech Center, evaluates and selects toys to be included in the Toys R US Guide for Differently-Abled Kids. Click on the link to obtain a copy of the guide.

• Guide to Toys 2005: Let's Play, A Guide to Toys for Children with Special Needs

• Recreation A Great Way to Be Active: A Guide to Getting Started For people with Disabilities.

• Removing Barriers to Health Clubs and Fitness Facilities. (1999)

• Access Board ADA Guidelines for Recreation Facilities. (2002)

• Access Board Guidelines on Play Areas (2005)

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• For guidelines for communicating about health care, click on http://www.idph.state.ia.us/bh/disability_prevention.asp and select Communicating About Health Care with People who have Disabilities.

• Removing Barriers to Health Care: A Guide for Health Professionals (1998)

• Medical Offices Access Equals Opportunity: Your Guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act (1992) For a copy, contact the Council of Better Business Bureaus' Foundation in Arlington, Virginia 703.247.3656 or the Region 4 Resource Center 1.800.949.4232.
   

• Oral Health

  • Oral Health Care For People With Special Needs:  Guidelines for Comprehensive Care A culmination of the multi-part series that can be found in the Exceptional Parent Magazine published in 2003. A 47 page monograph that provides a comprehensive Introduction; Behavior Management Techniques; Special Diagnostic and Treatment Considerations concluding with Professional Challenges and Responsibilities and References for further reading. Co-edited by Sanford J. Fenton, DDS, MDS; Steven Perlman, DDS, MScD and Harold Turner, AB, DDS.
     

• Women's Health Care

  • Preventative Women’s Health Care For Women With Disabilities

  • A Provider's Guide for the Care of Women with Physical Disabilities and Chronic Medical Conditions by North Carolina (1999)

  • Access to Health Care by Women with Disabilities (1999)

  • Breast Health, Access for Women with Disabilities
     

• Assistive Technology

  • Schwartzberg, J.G., Kakavas, V.K., & Malkind, S. (Eds.) 1996. Guidelines for the Use of Assistive Technology: Evaluation, Referral, Prescription, 2nd edition. Chicago, IL: Department of Geriatric Health, American Medical Association. To order copies, call 312/464-5085. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/433/assistivetechnology.pdf
     

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• Electronic Communication

  • Section 508

  • Guide for developing usable and useful web site by U.S. DHHS

  • Usablenet. Mobile Devices   

  • World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Guidelines

  • Bobby accessibility validator tool  

  • Designing more usable websites by Trace R & D Center
     

• Print/Visual Communication - Alternate Formats

  • Color Contrast Guidelines  by Lighthouse International

  • Removing Barriers: Tips and Strategies to Promote Accessible Communication (1999) by North Carolina ODH

  • Same-Time Availability to Everyone

  • Guidelines for Reporting and Writing about People With Disabilities (1990) For a paper copy, e-mail rtcil@ku.edu

  • The Public Health Image Library (PHIL)  is a collection of digital images available through the Internet to the public health community and the general public. PHIL is currently using the National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and developing a vocabulary to cover content from the field of universal design. Photos, unlike textual content, require two forms of description: what an image is "of," and what an image is "about." More than one controlled vocabulary may be necessary to adequately catalogue the images, and a few have been consulted including the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). For details contact the  PHIL archivist, Hugh Kelsey.
     

• Oral/Verbal Communication

  • APA Guidelines for Conference Speakers (1999)

  • APHA Accessible Oral Presentation Guidelines (PDF)

  • APHA Accessible Poster Presentation Guidelines (PDF)

  • Common Courtesies When Interacting with People with Disabilities. For a paper copy, contact the New Mexico Disability and Health Program in Santa Fe, New Mexico at 505.827.2975.

  • Practices to Keep in Mind as You Meet People with Disabilities (Revised 2005). For a paper copy contact June Isaacson Kailes, at 310.821.7080 or visit http://www.jik.com/resource.html.

  • People First: Communicating with and about people with disabilities (1999) For a paper copy of this brochure, contact the New York Department of Health at 518.474.2018.

  • Disability Etiquette Handbook by the San Antonio Planning Department  

  • Disability Etiquette by Community Resources for Independence, PA

  • Practices as you encounter people with disabilities by State of Hawaii

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• Removing Barriers:  Planning Meetings that are Accessible to all Participants.  This North Carolina publication highlights guidelines and strategies to help organizations make their meetings accessible and welcoming to people with disabilities. The guide focuses on small and last-minute meetings to make sure that a variety of participants are included in all aspects of organizational life. [PDF]

• The Guide: National Association of State Directors of Developmental disabilities Handbook on inclusive Meetings and Presentations (2006).  http://www.nasddds.org/pdf/TheGuide.pdf.

• U.S. Department of Education: Policy Statement on Meeting Accessibility for Individuals with Disabilities

• Planning Accessible Meetings: Part III - Making Your Presentations and Materials Accessible  AXIS Center for Public Awareness of People with Disabilities is an organization in Ohio.  This webpage is a part of a series of articles.  This article focuses on how to set up meeting rooms to accommodate everyone, prepare speakers to present information in a way that everyone can understand, and ensure all conference materials are offered in alternate formats.
• See Through Barriers: Making Conferences & Events Accessible to People Who Are Blind (2000)  Developed by the Canadian Abilities Foundation, this guide focuses on meeting access for people who have vision loss. Topics covered include meeting announcements, facilities, registration, starting the event, chairing the event, presenters, luncheons and receptions, and exhibits and displays.
• Involving People with Disabilities as Members of Advisory Groups: Rural Practice Guidelines. http://rtc.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/advocacy/Advisory.htm

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Date: June 20, 2006
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities