Creating Accessible Online Content for Health Professions Education

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Disability Studies
• Online Learning

Background:

• The prevalence of learners disclosing disabilities in medical education has significantly increased.
• Learners require accommodations for diverse disabilities, including sensory, mobility, learning, and chronic health conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the growing need for accessible online education in health professions.
• To emphasize the responsibility of educators in ensuring equitable access to online learning content.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of trends in disability disclosure among medical learners.
• Review of best practices in audiovisual and instructional design for accessibility.

Main Results:

• Nearly 6% of medical learners disclosed disabilities in 2021, more than double the 2015 rate.
• Current online education strategies often lack consistent implementation of accessibility best practices.

Conclusions:

• There is an urgent need to integrate accessibility best practices into online health professions education.
• Health professions educators must proactively ensure all online content is accessible to learners with disabilities.