Accessibility 101: How to Write Alt Text and Map Participant Journeys

Presented on: July 9, 2024

The MRCT Center and the Research Ethics Action Collaborative for HRPPs (REACH) presented the first webinar in the Accessibility 101 series on July 9, 2024

People with disabilities are the largest minority population in the United States, yet they are often excluded from clinical trials, both as participants and as researchers. Federal regulations, such as the recently updated Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, prohibit discrimination based on disability. Many accommodations are easy and low or no cost. It is incumbent upon all of us to build accessibility into our everyday thinking, meetings, presentations, and planning.

This webinar featured two interactive exercises in which participants learned:

• Basic information about disability statistics and disability rights, and, as shown through the Accessibility by Design in Clinical Research Toolkit, different types of support that you can readily implement.
• How to find the Check Accessibility and Alt Text features in PowerPoint and write appropriate Alt Text.
• How to map out the participant’s (and family caregiver’s or supporter’s) journey from different disability perspectives, from getting to/into the site location, navigating within the site to the different areas they must access, and interacting with different forms of medical equipment and technology.

Related Resources

Accessibility Resources by webinar slide
Accessibility 101: Questions and Answers
Accessibility by Design (AbD) Toolkit

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