Improving website accessibility for people with early-stage dementia: A preliminary investigation

Abstract

This study, conducted collaboratively with five men who have a diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD), is the first stage of a formative research project aimed at developing a new website for people with dementia. Recommendations derived from a literature review of the implications of dementia-related cognitive changes for website design were combined with general web accessibility guidelines to provide a basis for the initial design of a new website. This website was compared with an equivalent site, containing the same information but based on an existing design, in terms of accessibility, ease of use, and user satisfaction. Participants were very satisfied with both sites, but responses did indicate some specific areas where one site was preferred over another. Observational data highlighted significant strengths of the new site as well as some limitations, and resulted in clear recommendations for enhancing the design. In particular, the study suggested that limiting the size of web pages to the amount of information that can be displayed on a computer screen at any one time could reduce the level of difficulty encountered by the participants. The results also suggested the importance of reducing cognitive load through limiting the number of choices required at any one time, the very opposite of the ethos of much website design.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the participants, all staff based at the Petersfield Centre, especially Jonathan Clements, and Jenny Grey of HUBB.

Notes

 See http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/Branch Websites/ WestKent/home.htm

 See http://www.dasni.org

 Available from Rachael Litherland, [email protected]

 A full report on the study is available from the authors and includes a list of accessibility guidelines for web design, a summary of general guidance on producing accessible websites, and details of major design differences between the two sites.