Accessible communication resources for health professionals

NSW Health Accessible Communications 

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​NSW Health Accessible Communications

This Policy Directive outlines the steps and considerations for producing accessible communication for use across all channels and formats, including print, video, digital and audio.

​​Read this Policy Directive here​

​​​We all have a role to play when it comes to making sure health information is accessible to everyone, and this can be done in different ways.

This resource library is for health professionals and includes practical and easy-to-use tools and resources to help achieve best practice when developing accessible health information.​

  • General toolkits and introductions

    • Accessibility and Inclusivity Toolkit
      Digital NSW provides the building blocks for creating user-centred digital services, as well as policy, tools, and guidance to enhance accessibility.
    • Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care: Health literacy
      Australian Government publications addressing health literacy and effective communication.
    • Digital Service Standard
      The Australian Government’s best-practice principles for designing and delivering government services. Accessibility requirements are specifically addressed in Criterion 9: Make it Accessible. Criterion 6 and Criterion 7 also cross with accessibility in requiring responsive and consistent interfaces and common platforms.
    • Easy Read style guide
      To help you with creating assets in an Easy Read format, Digital NSW have developed a style guide. It features tips for writing Easy Read content, examples, suggestions for selecting suitable images, and much more.
    • GeneEQUAL toolkit
      ​GeneEQUAL have made a toolkit for health professionals that includes advice on how to do healthcare that is respectful, inclusive and accessible. 
    • ​ National Health Survey: Health literacy
      Data on health literacy by population characteristics including age and sex, by geography, health risk factors and status based on results from the 2018 Australian Bureau of Statistics’ national health survey on health literacy.

    Writing and editing

    • ​ Australian Government Style Manual
      Sets the standard for Australian Government writing and editing. It includes an entire section on producing accessible and inclusive content. Other useful topics relating to accessible communications, including Easy Read and plain language, are covered throughout the manual.
    • Plain English principles​
      T​ips on how to use plain English when developing communications materials.

    Branding and design

    • Accessible documents
      The NSW Public Service Commission has put together information for creating accessible word documents, PDFs, presentations, and emails.
    • NSW Brand Government Brand Toolbox
      ​The brand toolbox helps you determine what NSW Government Visual Identity System you must follow to apply branding to NSW Government communications correctly. To access the toolbox you will need to register by confirming the NSW Government you work for.

    Project and community management

  • NSW Government

    Independent source

  • NSW Government

    Independent source

  • NSW Government

    Independent source

  • Testing your communications

    NSW Government

    • Communication accessibility checklist
      Use this checklist to rate the accessibility of the communications you create and to learn ways to improve your written, visual, and digital communications.
    • Event accessibility checklist
      When it comes to organising an event, there are a few aspects to consider t​​o ensure the event can be enjoyed by everybody. This checklist will provide you with considerations to help accommodate people with disability.
    • Meetings and events checklist
      ​This Digital NSW checklist covers what you need to consider when preparing for and running an online meeting or event, as well as resources.

    Independent source

    • Colour contrast checker
      This colour contrast checker provides you with the ability to check the background and foreground colours of your text. It gives you the option to change the font and add example copy to see what it looks like in large text.
    • Hemingway App
       An app that helps make your writing bold and clear by highlighting lengthy, complex sentences and common errors.
    • Microsoft Accessibility Checker
      Run the Accessibility Checker built into Microsoft office applications to make your content easier for people with disabilities to read and edit.
    • The Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease Test
      When Microsoft Word finishes checking spelling and grammar and corrects errors, you can choose to display information about the reading level of the document.
    • WebAIM
      A free tool which checks the contrast accessibility of your foreground text and background colour.
    • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
      WCAG is a site that focuses on standards, developments, and issues in web page development as they relate to accessibility for people with a disability.
    • WebAIM - Link Contrast Checker
      ​A free tool which checks the contrast accessibility of your website links.

  • NSW Government

    • Accessibility NSW learning modules – Digital NSW
      A range of free and paid courses and learning modules on digital accessibility.
    • Intellectual disability training videos
       This video series can help you understand the care needs of a person with intellectual disability.
    • My Health Learning (for NSW Health staff)
      • Digital Accessibility (course code: 338035719)
        This module is for beginners and shows how to create accessible and inclusive content for mobile apps and the web.
      • Easy guide to writing (course code: 40165467)
        This module will provide you with simple, easy to use guidelines for writing in plain language using correct punctuation.
      • Health Literacy and Teach-back (course code: 241744958)
        A podcast series that emphasises the importance of health literacy in providing health care that is safe and supports improved patient outcomes.
      • Just Include Me - Inclusive Health Care (course code: 507546397)
        This series of nine training modules have been developed by the Council for Intellectual Disability to guide the development of inclusive and accessible health communication materials.
      • Let's Talk Disability (course code: 67951622)
        Meet the diverse needs of people with disability who use NSW Health services.
      • Removing the barriers: Inclusion of people with disability (Learning pathway)
        Five modules to enhance your knowledge about the diversity and different perspectives of disability, and how to effectively remove barriers to promote inclusion within the workplace.
    • Teach back
      An online learning module developed to provide healthcare workers with the information and skills to use the teach-back method.

    Independent source

    • Council for Intellectual Disability
      Online Easy Read training courses facilitated by the Council for Intellectual Disability. These courses will help health professionals develop health communication materials in Easy Read to enable consumers to make informed decisions about their health.
    • Digital Accessibility for the Modern Workplace
      A 50-minute course on LinkedIn Learning by Hector Minto, an accessibility evangelist at Microsoft, who shares how to use accessibility solutions, outlines technology solutions for each type of disability and provides best practices for developing more inclusive experiences in meetings, emails, presentations, and social media posts.
    • Digital Accessibility Foundations
      The Introduction to Web Accessibility is a free online course that provides the foundation you need to make your websites and apps work well for people with disability, meet international standards and provide a better user experience for everyone.
    • GuideDogs - accessible documents courses
      ​The GuideDogs accessible document courses will help you or your staff create documents that are accessible to all. They provide a mix of paid and free courses.​

 

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Current as at: Friday 6 September 2024
Contact page owner: Strategic Communications and Engagement