Access to assistive technology (AT) information in Spanish on state and territory program websites: United States, 2018

BACKGROUND

Compared to non-Hispanic white individuals, assistive technology (AT) utilization is lower among Hispanic individuals.^1-7 In the US, Spanish is the 2nd most frequently spoken language. Greater than one-fifth of Spanish-speaking households are limited English proficiencty (LEP) households (i.e., all individuals over age 14 in the household speak English less than "very well").⁸ Availability of AT materials in Spanish is one factor influencing knowledge about and utilization of AT among Spanish-speakers.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the availability of Spanish-language AT information on state AT program websites and to assess the relationship between availability and state demographic and linguistic characteristics.

METHODS

In 2018, we evaluated 56 state and territory AT program websites for the availability of AT information in Spanish. We calculated 4 measures (US Hispanic population in the state/territory; Hispanic individuals as a proportion of state population; overall Spanish-speaking households, and Spanish-speaking, limited English proficient households) from the 2016 American Community Survey and created ranked lists for each measure. Point biserial (r_pb) correlations were calculated to test associations between each measure and availability of AT information in Spanish on each program's website.

RESULTS

Sixteen program websites (15 states, 1 territory) provided access to Spanish-language AT information. None of the 4 measures were strongly associated with this outcome (r_pb ranged from 0.30 to 0.42). For any of the 4 measures, no more than half of states in the top 10 ranks offered online access to AT information in Spanish.

CONCLUSIONS

Improving the online availability of AT information in Spanish is necessary to increase equity in AT utilization among Spanish-speaking people with disabilities.