In today's digital age, web accessibility has emerged as a critical aspect of creating an inclusive online environment for all users. World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and the Public Health Foundation (PHF) are excited to offer the free online course, Introduction to Web Accessibility, to the public health audience through the TRAIN Learning Network (TRAIN).
Since its inception in 1997, WAI has been an integral part of W3C. WAI pursues increasing the accessibility of the Web for people with disabilities, notably by developing guidelines for web content, user agents, and authoring tools.
Public health agencies have a critical role in ensuring the health and well-being of their communities. As Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) are central public health principles, incorporating training for web accessibility is a tangible way public health agencies can demonstrate a commitment to these principles.
W3C and PHF believe that enabling greater web accessibility in healthcare is important and is in service to the public good, ensuring everyone, regardless of their background or abilities, has equal access to healthcare resources and information.
W3C’s Web Accessibility course, Introduction to Web Accessibility, is available on W3Cx, W3C’s online learning platform on edX, and now also through TRAIN. In this course, learners discover the wide-ranging aspects of web accessibility, how people use different assistive technologies and adaptive strategies, the business benefits it offers, and where to access W3C resources for implementation. Introduction to Web Accessibility can be used as a component of training public health communicators, assuring that they are knowledgeable about how to meet the needs of all users within their work.
Web accessibility is not just a technical consideration; it's a fundamental aspect of public health. It's about ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access crucial health information. The inclusion of a W3Cx course on Web Accessibility through TRAIN aims to support public health professionals and agencies in having easy access to resources and training that will help them create a more accessible and inclusive web presence.