Web accessibility for an ageing population OZeWAI Conference 30 November 2011 Andrew Arch

1. 1 • Web accessibility for an ageing population • OZeWAI Conference • 30 November 2011 • Andrew Arch • Assistant Director, Web Policy – Accessibility Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO)

2. Ageing in Australia • Intergenerational Review 2010 (Treasury) • Acknowledges: • Population is ageing • Increased spending required on health, age-pensions, aged-care • Age-care policies need to enable people to stay in the community as long as possible • http://www.treasury.gov.au/igr/

3. Extended working career Age Commissioner: “A recent Deloittes report on the looming national skills shortage asked the question that should be on the lips of most businesses: Where is your next employee coming from?” Commissioner Ryan said. “Their answer was clear – your next employee is retired or about to retire.” http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/media/news/2011/125_11.html

4. Ageing in Europe • EC funded projects around ICT for ageing well • Smart homes • Smart appliances • E-health • Monitoring • Independent living

5. Draws on http://www.w3.org/WAI/presentations/ageing/ DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES

6. Developed with material from W3C Web () / United Nations global demographic forecast Source: UN World Population Prospects Global demographic changes

7. Demographic forecast for the EU Source: EuroStat European situation

8. Demographic forecast for Japan Source: Japanese Statistics Bureau Japanese situation

9. Demographic forecast for Australia Source: ABS Population Projections Australia’s situation

10. CHANGING ABILITIES

11. Ageing and hearing loss • Impact: • Audio can be difficult to discern • Higher pitch sounds can be missed • Prevalence: • 47% of people 61 to 80 years • 93% of people 81+ years

12. Ageing and vision decline • Impact: • Decreasing ability to focus on near tasks • Changing colour perception and sensitivity • Decreasing contrast sensitivity • Prevalence:(significant vision loss) • 16% of people 65 - 74 years • 19% of people 75 – 84 years • 46% of people 85+ years

13. Ageing and physical decline • Impact:(Motor skill decline can result from many conditions including arthritis and Parkinson's Disease) • Difficulty using mouse or keyboard • Difficult to click small areas • Strain from non-ergonomic tasks • Prevalence:(Conditions commonly reported) • Arthritis • At least 50% of people over 65 affected • Essential tremor • Affects up to 20% of people over 65 • Parkinson's Disease • Approximately 4% of people over 85 affected

14. Ageing and cognitive decline • Impact:Navigation, comprehension, and task completion can be affected by: • Short term memory problems • Difficulty with concentration • Distraction from movement or irrelevant material • Difficulty coping with information overload • Prevalence:(Conditions commonly reported) • Dementia: • 1.4% of people 65-69 yrs • 24% of people 85+ yrs  • Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is more common: • Around 20% of people over 70 years are estimated to experience MCI

15. Older people online

16. Unprecedented opportunities for: • Social interaction and communication • Access to information • Access to eCommerce • Access to government services and civic participation • Training and learning opportunities • Employment, research, and access to workplace applications

17. “Older Australians and the Internet” Participants awareness of and interest in the internet http://apo.org.au/research/older-australians-and-internet

18. “Older Australians and the Internet” Barriers identified: Don’t know how to use it Confused by the technology Concern about security and viruses Don’t know what it does Rely on friends & family

19. Numbers online (2006)

20. ACCESSIBILTY FOR OLDER PEOPLE

21. Observations from the literature Many studies seemed unaware of the W3C/WAI work Information overload was commonly identified Less technical, more usability, requirements predominated Accessibility options were not appreciated by users Adaptive strategies were seldom considered Assistive technology was not discussed Hearing as an impairment was ignored Draws on http://www.w3.org/WAI/presentations/ageing

22. Roger Hudson’s survey (2010) Common problems “Silly little picture about nothing” “Fancy stuff that keeps moving” “Finding what I’m after” “Too many navigation choices” Text size or colour Text size sometimes a problem for 48% Colour mentioned by 23% http://kwz.me/Y3 /

23. ROLE OF WAI GUIDELINES

24. Components of web accessibility

25. Accessible web content Requirements include: Readable and understandable text Identifiable and understandable links Clear and identifiable headings Good orientation and navigation WCAG 2.0 addresses these

26. Usability improvements Usability improvements especially help older people and people with disabilities: Page layout and design - provide consistency and avoid overload Text presentation - use left justification, increase line spacing & margins, avoid italics and underlining Forms - avoid complexity and provide clear guidance Menus and links - provide predictability and consistency WCAG 2.0 also addresses these

27. WAI-AGE OUTCOMES

28. WAI-AGE goals Raising awareness of Web accessibility for older people Better explaining the applicability of the WAI guidelines for older people Avoiding potential fragmentation through reinvention of requirements Encouraging participation of older people in W3C/WAI standardization

29. WAI-AGE resources Revision of existing WAI resources, including: Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization Before and After Demonstration (BAD) website Involving Users in Web Projects for Better, Easier Accessibility Developing Web Accessibility Presentations and Training

30. WAI-AGE resources New WAI resources: Better Web Browsing - Tips to customize your computer Contacting Organizations about Inaccessible Websites Developing Websites for Older People How to Make Presentations Accessible to All

31. Websites for Older People:How WCAG 2.0 Applies Perceivable Text size Text style and text layout Color and contrast Multimedia Text-to-speech (speech synthesis) CAPTCHA Operable Links Navigation and location Mouse use Keyboard use and tabbing Distractions Sufficient time Understandable Page organization Understandable language Consistent navigation and labeling Pop-ups and new-windows Page refresh and updates Instructions and input assistance Error prevention and recovery for forms Robust Older equipment/software http://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users/developing

32. AUSTRALIAN ACTIVITIES

33. National Seniors Australia report Older people will be online for : e-Health Social networking Adult learning Shopping & banking http://www.productiveageing.com.au/site/grants_arc.php

34. Initiatives Australia Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy National Broadband Network Digital Communities UK Silver Surfers Day/week Race Online 2012

35. NTS timeframes • Implementation WCAG 2.0 by Australian Governments in accordance with agreed work plan • Level A by December 2012 • Level AA by December 2014 • Bottom line - websites that are not accessible are not fit for purpose

36. Contact details Andrew.Arch@finance.gov.au WCAG2@finance.gov.au 02 6215 1618 Discussion