Readable, audible, navigable: accessible communication for the non-profit health sector

Abstract

For non-profit organizations (NPOs) working in the health arena, digital media – with its broad reach, relative cost-effectiveness, and vaunted inclusivity – might seem to offer an optimal ensemble of channels with which to offer accessible communications to groups affected by disability. However, NPOs may struggle to comprehend and meet the accessibility needs of their stakeholder groups. This article reports on the digital communication practices of seven New Zealand NPOs dedicated to serving the health and disability sector. Communication representatives of the organizations were interviewed; e-newsletters were assessed against the 2008 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0), and recipients of the organizations’ e-newsletters were surveyed for their perceptions and suggestions. Greater awareness of the need for accessibility standards across all digital communication platforms, systematic application of WCAG 2.0, and consideration of the perspectives of individuals with disabilities will assist NPOs in improving their communication efforts.

Keywords:

• accessibility
• email
• digital media
• non-profit sector
• WCAG 2.0 guidelines
• organization-public relationships

Notes

1. HyperRESEARCH is a software application that is used for conducting qualitative research.

2. This research was conducted under the guidelines of Massey University’s Human Ethics Committee and was adjudged a low-risk project.

3. Accessibility became an issue for our own survey. Upon receiving feedback that some questions were difficult to understand, an NZSL translation of the questions in the survey was created and uploaded to YouTube. A link to this video was subsequently added to the welcome page of the survey.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

F. Elizabeth Gray

Dr. Elizabeth Gray (PhD Virginia) teaches courses in professional writing, editing, and publishing in the School of Communication, Journalism, and Marketing at Massey University, New Zealand. Her research interests include non-profit organizations’ stakeholder communication; written and oral communication demand in scientific and business workplaces; and the history of journalism. She has published her work in Australian Journal of Communication, Business Communication Quarterly, PRism, Accounting Education, the Journal of Science Education and Technology, and several literary journals. In addition to communication research, Elizabeth has published two books on women’s writing in the nineteenth century.

Kane Hopkins

Kane Hopkins is a Lecturer in Public Relations at Auckland University of Technology. Prior to joining AUT in 2015, he spent 10 years teaching public relations at Massey University. His research interests are in the area of relationship management, practitioner roles, and the use of communication technologies in organization/public relationships.

Christine Kirkwood

Christine Kirkwood graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor of Communication Degree with Honours from Massey University, majoring in Public Relations. Christine is continuing with her Master of Communication Degree, researching the non-profit sector’s use of digital platforms for stakeholder cultivation and engagement. In 2015, she also started working full-time as a Communications Advisor with the New Zealand Fire Service in Wellington, New Zealand, where her role encompasses brand, reputation, media, stakeholder engagement and community engagement, internal communications and digital marketing.