Accessibility and comprehension of COVID-19 information for people with blindness and low vision

Valentina Mašić Fabac; Dominik Sikirić

doi:10.5937/specedreh22-42810

Valentina Mašić Fabac Edukacijsko-rehabilitacijaki fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Dominik Sikirić Odsjek za oštećenja vida, Edukacijsko-rehabilitacijski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5937/specedreh22-42810

Keywords: blind, low vision, COVID-19, information accessibility, comprehension

Abstract

Introduction. In crisis situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, timely and comprehensive health information for people with blindness and low vision is extremely important. Based on the information gathered, it is possible to respond appropriately to the health services needs of the pandemic. Objectives. The purpose of this study was to define the differences in demographic groups among 45 adults with visual impairment from Croatia in accessibility and comprehension of COVID-19 information during the lockdown and its impact on emotional distress and adherence to epidemiological measures. Methods. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to test for differences between demographic groups on the information accessibility and comprehension variables. Spearman's test of correlation coefficient was used to test the correlation between information accessibility and comprehension with emotional distress and adherence to epidemiologic measures. Results. The results showed a statistically significant difference for people with blindness and low vision older than 60 who have fewer problems than those 20-30 years old in the COVID-19 information accessibility. Those with higher information accessibility left their houses more rarely. Information accessibility showed no correlation with emotional distress. People with blindness and low vision with higher information comprehension expressed lower emotional distress and felt more certain about proper house hygiene upkeeping. Conclusion. Higher attention should be given to the accessibility and comprehension of media information for people with blindness and low vision in critical situations that can lead to saving lives, in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, by lessening social contact and keeping proper house hygiene.

References

Ahmadi, S., Jorjoran Shushtari, Z., Shirazikhah, M., Biglarian, A., Irandoost, S. F., Paykani, T., Almasi, A., Rajabi-Gilan, N., Mehedi, N., & Salimi, Y. (2022). Social determinants of adherence to COVID-19 preventive guidelines in Iran: A Qualitative study. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 59, 004695802210841. https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580221084185

Ahmed, M. R., & Naveed, M. A. (2020). Information accessibility for visually impaired students. Pakistan Journal of Information Management and Libraries, 22, 16–36. https://doi.org/10.47657/1793

Beverley, C. A., Bath, P. A., & Booth, A. (2004). Health information needs of visually impaired people: A systematic review of the literature. Health and Social Care in the Community, 12(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2524.2004.00460.x

Beverley, C. A., Bath, P. A., & Barber, R. (2007). Can two established information models explain the information behaviour of visually impaired people seeking health and social care information? Journal of Documentation, 63(1), 9–32. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410710723867

Beverley, C. A., Bath, P. A., & Barber, R. (2011). Health and social care information for visually‐impaired people. Aslib Proceedings, 63(2/3), 256–274. https://doi.org/10.1108/00012531111135691

Clements, J. M. (2020). Knowledge and behaviors toward COVID-19 among us residents during the early days of the pandemic: Cross-Sectional Online Questionnaire. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 6(2), e19161. https://doi.org/10.2196/19161

Cohen, J. (2013). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. (2nd. ed.) Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Statistical-Power-Analysis-for-the-Behavioral-Sciences/Cohen/p/book/9780203771587

Dror, A. A., Morozov, N. G., Layous, E., Mizrachi, M., Daoud, A., Eisenbach, N., Rayan, D., Kaykov, E., Marei, H., Barhum, M., Srouji, S., Avraham, K. B., & Sela, E. (2021). United by hope, divided by access: Country mapping of COVID-19 information accessibility and its consequences on pandemic eradication. Frontiers in Medicine, 7, 618337. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2020.618337

Farooq, A., Laato, S., Islam, A. K. M. N., & Isoaho, J. (2021). Understanding the impact of information sources on COVID-19 related preventive measures in Finland. Technology in Society, 65, 101573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2021.101573

Hardika, H., Aisyah, E. N., & Kurniawan, T. (2020). Literacy about COVID-19: Trending words, news sources, comprehension, and community curiosity in perspectives nonformal education. Journal of Nonformal Education, 6(2), 161-167. http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/jne.v6i2.24898

Hewitt, D. H., & He, Y. (2021). Internet accessibility for blind and visually-impaired users: An Evaluation of official U.S. state and territory COVID-19 websites. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 65(1), 154–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/1071181321651051

Hjelmquist, E., Dahlstrand, U., & Hedelin, L. (1992). Visually impaired persons’ comprehension of text presented with speech synthesis. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 86(10), 426–428. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X9208601005

Jondani, J. A. (2021). Strategies for Addressing the Special Needs of People with Visual Impairments During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 115(3), 263-267. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X211014334

Kostanjevac, T., & Bagaric, Z. (2022). Accessibility of public health information on COVID-19 outbreak: Analysis of the first European official TV releases. Media - Kultura - Komunikacja Społeczna, 18. https://doi.org/10.31648/mkks.7228

Lüchtenberg, M., Kuhli-Hattenbach, C., Sinangin, Y., Ohrloff, C., & Schalnus, R. (2008). Accessibility of health information on the internet to the visually impaired user. Ophthalmologica, 222(3), 187–193. https://doi.org/10.1159/000126082

Mašić Fabac, V. & Sikirić, D. (2022). Correlation between visually impaired persons emotional distress and frequency in independent everyday mobility and attitudes towards epidemiological guidelines in mobility. In I. G. Rotaru, S. E. Muafi, M. Lee, M. Mikeladze, C. F. Peng, H. B. Khalil, C. Yenigun, J. Ferri, B. H Malkawi, S. Sargin, A. Kilicman, L. Kaminskienė, G. Gedvilienė, A. Sršen, A. Erciyes, J. Bawa Yaro, A. Hidayat, M. Talvik, R. Zhang & G. Scotto di Carlo (Ed.) Proceedings of The 4th International Conference on Social Sciences in the 21st Century, (pp. 15-25). Diamond Scientific Publishing.

Moran, C., Campbell, D. J. T., Campbell, T. S., Roach, P., Bourassa, L., Collins, Z., Stasiewicz, M., & McLane, P. (2021). Predictors of attitudes and adherence to COVID-19 public health guidelines in Western countries: A rapid review of the emerging literature. Journal of Public Health, 43(4), 739–753. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdab070

Murman, D.L. (2015). The impact of age on cognition. Seminars in Hearing, 36(3), 111-121. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0035-1555115

Naveed, M. A., & Shaukat, R. (2022). Health literacy predicts Covid-19 awareness and protective behaviours of university students. Health information and libraries journal, 39(1), 46–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12404

Oviedo-Cáceres, M. del P., Arias-Pineda, K. N., Yepes-Camacho, M. del R., & Montoya Falla, P. (2021). COVID-19 pandemic: Experiences of people with visual impairment. Investigación y Educación En Enfermería, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.iee.v39n1e09

Robinson, L., Schulz, J., Wiborg, Ø. N., & Johnston, E. (2021). The COVID connection: pandemic anxiety, COVID-19 comprehension, and digital confidence. American Behavioral Scientist, 65(12), 1721–1746. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642211003155

Sikirić, D., & Mašić Fabac, V. (2022). COVID-19 effect on everyday mobility of different demographic groups of people with blindness and visual impairment. Journal for ReAttach Therapy and Developmental Diversities, 4(2), 93–103. https://doi.org/10.26407/jrtdd2021.1.48

Siu, A. F., Fan, D., Kim, G. S.-H., Rao, H. V., Vazquez, X., O’Modhrain, S., & Follmer, S. (2021). COVID-19 highlights the issues facing blind and visually impaired people in accessing data on the web. In D. Ahmetović & V. Yaneva, (Ed.) Proceedings of the 18th International Web for All Conference, (pp. 1–15). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3430263.3452432

Soederberg Miller, L. S., Gee, P. M., & Katz, R. A. (2021). The importance of understanding COVID-19: The role of knowledge in promoting adherence to protective behaviors. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 581497. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.581497

Soroya, S. H., Farooq, A., Mahmood, K., Isoaho, J., & Zara, S. (2021). From information seeking to information avoidance: Understanding the health information behavior during a global health crisis. Information Processing & Management, 58(2), 102440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102440

Valizadeh-Haghi, S., Khazaal, Y., & Rahmatizadeh, S. (2021). Health websites on COVID-19: Are they readable and credible enough to help public self-care? Journal of the Medical Library Association, 109(1). https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2021.1020

Wang, S., & Yu, J. (2017). Everyday information behaviour of the visually impaired in China. Information Research, 22(1), 19.

Yu, S. Y. (2021). A review of the accessibility of ACT COVID-19 information portals. Technology in Society, 64, 101467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101467