An evaluation of website accessibility to Senior Citizens

Jeri Banks

According to the NEC Research Institute, there are more than 800 million web

pages on the Internet. In the United States alone, 64 million adults are regular

Internet users. The number of women that use the Internet surpassed 96

million in 2001. In North America and Europe, 1 in 6 people use the Internet.

The Internet serves many purposes, one of which is job listings. 82 % of

college graduates use the Internet to search for careers and employment

information online. Another primary use for the Internet is commerce. 44% of

U.S. companies sell products and services online.

Senior citizens are often neglected in the Internet industry. Some obstacles

that seniors often face include difficulty physically navigating through

websites, visual impairment or a decrease in the ability to perform mental

operations since seniors process information more slowly than their younger

counterparts. With 42.2% of the total U.S. adult population being regular

Internet users, the number of Senior Citizens online will increase as Baby-

boomers reach retirement age. In fact, people aged 60 and older constitute

the fastest growing group of computer users on the World Wide Web.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has developed four major categories that

will make websites senior friendly: readable text, presenting information in a

clear and positive manner, the incorporation of other media such as images,

and ease of navigation. Using these guidelines, I have evaluated the website

for the Mary Greeley Medical Center. Seniors use the Internet for many things

including health information and research. It is surprising to find the website

isn't “Senior Friendly”.

While the site uses a black sans-serif font on a white background, it is still

difficult to read. The body of the text is single spaced and the font used on

this website is set only to normal 9 pt making reading difficult even for the

average reader. For the vision impaired, a screen reader is a tool that may be

used. If this is the case, a screen reader cannot recognize an image unless alt

text is added. Alt text is the information that is added to an image and can be

seen when the cursor is hovered over the image and a small box pops up. For

example, the screen reader would read “Logo of the Mary Greeley Medical

Center”. Otherwise, it is unrecognizable data by the screen reader. This site

contains no alt text. On pages such as the pain medicine page that contains a

large amount of information, the font is set at 7.5 in an attempt to fit more

information on one page. Once at the bottom, a simple drop down menu is

found with frequently asked questions regarding pain. The menu is an

excellent addition, though unlikely to be seen or used. On the positive side,

the flow of the text is smooth, upper and lower case letters justified to the left.

Another problem seniors may face is navigation. Although all pages but one

include a static navigation bar, the buttons are small and the dropdown menus

are crowded with text making it difficult to know where to click for information.

There is no “back” button that would take a novice visitor back to the page

they started at. All of the links use an underline when the cursor is hovered

over it and they are accessed with a single click making navigation somewhat

easier. While the pages are laid out in a magazine style with one or two

columns, image links would make navigation even easier. The images

provided load quickly are relevant to the text on each page making it easier to

identify what page you are on. A page dedicated to instructions on how to use

the site would be very helpful.

The overall information on the site is friendly and positive. When a senior

citizen visits this site, it's likely for information about impending health issues

or to arrange for an appointment of some kind. Telephone numbers are

provided on many of the pages but should be placed at the top of the page

with the site logo, not at the bottom where it may not be seen. The information

is certainly clear although it can seem unfamiliar and overwhelming with all of

the medical terminology. Adding a glossary of medical terms to the site could

alleviate this problem and ease fears.

I found this site to be typical of many sites on the Internet. It is difficult to

navigate, difficult to read and overwhelming. This site is not likely to be used

often by senior citizens.