Help or hinder? An assessment of the accessibility, usability, reliability and readability of disability funding website information for Australian mental health consumers
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Slattery, Maddy
Stewart, Victoria
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Abstract
This study aimed to assess the accessibility, usability, reliability and readability of those websites most likely encountered by Australian mental health consumers when using the internet to find information regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Websites were systematically identified with 127 deemed relevant for assessment in 2018. The LIDA instrument, the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook and Flesch‐Kincaid Grade Level were used to evaluate the quality of information provided to mental health consumers. The study identified mediocre results for the accessibility, usability, reliability and readability of websites as they pertain to the needs of mental health consumers. Furthermore, it was identified that mental health support websites did not provide a more appropriate online experience for mental health consumers than general information websites, despite their focus on this demographic. These findings suggest a lack of understanding regarding the needs of mental health consumers and their experience of the online environment, which may in turn affect their access to information, agency and, ultimately, their uptake of the NDIS. The establishment of guidelines around enhancements to the online environment for mental health consumers would provide an experience that instils confidence, returns dignity and aids this group in realising their personal recovery journey.
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Health & Social Care in the Community
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© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Help or hinder? An assessment of the accessibility, usability, reliability and readability of disability funding website information for Australian mental health consumers, Health & Social Care in the Community, Early View, 2020, which has been published in final form at 10.1111/hsc.13192. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving (http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-828039.html)
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Health services and systems
Public health
Social work
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Visser, K; Slattery, M; Stewart, V, Help or hinder? An assessment of the accessibility, usability, reliability and readability of disability funding website information for Australian mental health consumers, Health & Social Care in the Community