Accessibility, With or Without Colour : A qualitative look on existing accessibility guidelines for colour vision deficiency and its effect on Swedish e-health services.

Abstract: Purpose WCAG is a set of guidelines to assist in developing websites accessible for everyone, for example people with colour vision deficiency (CVD). However, there are few guidelines relevant for CVD and with increasing dependant on websites the importance of accessibility on these websites increases as well. The purpose of the research study is therefore to investigate the impact the relevant guidelines for CVD in WCAG 2.1 has on Swedish health care websites and what the consequences are for people who live with CVD. Method An initial literature study was conducted to gain knowledge of previous findings and also evaluate the best approach for the research study. The research study is based on a qualitative approach to gain a deep understanding of the area and to gain insight into the feelings and experiences of the people affected. The methods used to gain the necessary knowledge are an evaluation of 1177.se and e-tjanster.1177.se also observations and interviews around these two websites. Findings The results show that WCAG 2.1 has a positive impact on Swedish health care websites, as well as on users with CVD. From evaluations, interviews and observations it is concluded that 1177.se and e-tjanster.1177.se are easy to perceive for people with CVD. Implications This research study was limited to the mobile version of the websites. However, the results could be different if the research was conducted on the desktop version due to the different structure of the websites and the inclusion of a cursor on desktop. The evaluation could have been affected by the sampling of pages while the interviews and observations should not have been. Limitations The research study was limited to Swedish health care website 1177.se and its subdomain etjanster. 1177.se. Further it was decided to evaluate the mobile version of these websites, although the elements should look similar on desktop and mobile. While not the initial intention, due to over representation of red-green CVD the study was also limited to people with red-green CVD. Also, the experience of browsing the web on a mobile device was considered to reduce the variables for frustrations. Further research For further research, another selection of WCAG guidelines could be considered to evaluate etjanster. 1177.se since the results shows that 1177.se’s and e-tjanster.1177.se's weaknesses seems to be in the structure of the website. A study researching the “blue-yellow colour blindness” compared to websites could contribute with new, relevant knowledge as well.