Evaluation for Everyone

Accessibility is something we typically talk about in the context of buildings, transportation, and public spaces, but it applies just as much to the documents and digital materials we produce every day. 

What do we mean by "accessible"?

The US Access Board defines accessibility of digital content as the ability of a document to be read by anyone, whether sighted or living with low vision or another visual impairment. In the context of evaluation and public health work, it also means making data and findings available for everyone, regardless of how they access information.

You may have heard the term Section 508 compliance. That's the amendment to the United States Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that requires all electronic and information technology developed, procured, or used by the federal government to be accessible to people with disabilities. 

In addition, as of April 2026, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is now in effect: 

Title II of the ADA requires state and local governments to make sure that their services are accessible to people with disabilities. This includes the services, programs, and activities that state and local governments offer online and through mobile apps.

Why do we care?

Aside from the legal requirements, why do we care about building accessibility into our work?

First, the numbers are significant. An estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide (nearly 1 in 5!) live with some form of vision impairment. As our population ages, that percentage continues to grow.

Equity is central to public health work. Making documents accessible is a form of cultural humility. Equality means treating everyone the same; equity means accounting for differences. Accessible documents help ensure that people in our communities can actually use the information we work so hard to produce.

It's also personal! If any of us lost our vision tomorrow, we'd still want to be able to do our jobs. Accessibility is as much about sustaining our own capacity to participate fully as it is about serving others.

Four key elements of accessible documents

Making our written materials accessible doesn't have to be difficult or complicated. Here are four things to consider when creating accessible documents:

1. Font

The California Department of Rehabilitation's Disability Access Services recommends using sans-serif fonts for electronic documents and presentations. Sans serif fonts are more readable on screens and when projected, making them the right choice for digital work. (Serif fonts like Times New Roman are better suited for print.)

Common, well-supported sans serif options include Calibri, Arial, and Verdana, all recommended by the California Department of Rehabilitation.

2. Color

Two things matter most when it comes to accessible use of color:

• Contrast. The easiest combination to read is black text on a white background. If a table or graphic uses low-contrast colors (say, light text on a light background), it can be very difficult for someone with a visual impairment to read. Good contrast doesn't require sacrificing design; it just requires intentional choices.
• Color as the sole conveyor of meaning. Be careful when using color alone to communicate information, particularly in data visualizations. For people with color deficiency, certain color combinations are indistinguishable from one another.

Here's one helpful resource: Color Brewer, originally developed for map-making, offers color schemes you can apply to any visualization. It includes a "colorblind safe" filter so you can choose palettes that remain distinguishable for people with color deficiency.

3. Alternative Text (Alt Text)

Alt text is how someone who cannot see an image, table, or graphic gets the information it is meant to convey. Screen readers speak the alt text description aloud, making it an essential part of any visual element in your documents.

Microsoft Office makes this straightforward: select the image, go to the Format menu, and choose Alt Text. A panel will open where you can type a short description.

A few tips:

• Newer versions of Word and PowerPoint will try to auto-generate alt text, but it may be inaccurate. It's worth reviewing and editing it manually.
• You don't need a lengthy description! Just focus on what's most important given the context. A photo of two people looking at phones might simply be described as "two young women looking at smartphones." But if that same image appears in a section about mobile data collection, the alt text should reflect that context, e.g., "two data collectors entering data into their mobile devices."

The goal is to convey the message, not just describe the image literally. For best practices for creating alt text, including how to describe icons, graphs, and illustrations, please see this resource from Harvard University.

4. Built-In Formatting Styles

Many of us are used to formatting headings by making text bold, increasing the font size, or typing in ALL CAPS. But for screen readers and other assistive technologies, those visual changes mean nothing. What matters is the applied style, not how something looks.

Microsoft Word's built-in formatting styles (found in the Styles panel) create a logical reading order that assistive technology can navigate. This is especially important for:

• Headings and subheadings: Using Heading 1, Heading 2, etc. allows screen readers to help users navigate long documents. It also makes a Table of Contents functional for accessibility purposes.
• Lists: Using Word's automatic bulleted or numbered list formatting (rather than typing dashes or numbers manually) ensures the list is recognized as such by assistive technology.

The built-in styles panel also includes options like Emphasis (for italics) and Quote, all of which communicate structure to assistive technology in a way that manual formatting simply doesn't.

This is just a starting point!

These four elements are a practical starting point, not an exhaustive guide. Microsoft Office also includes a built-in Accessibility Checker (found under the Review menu) that can flag common issues in your documents before you share them. 

Want to dive deeper? The Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California (TECC) recently released an on-demand training on creating accessible materials, available on their website.

With just a small amount of effort, we can go a long way toward making our evaluation work more equitable for everyone!