Usability and Accessibility Engineering

Collaborating with three human factors researchers from the University of Iowa and Hofstra University, we identified the essential role of public health websites in disseminating information during the COVID-19 pandemic. These websites became vital channels for providing reliable information to patients, caregivers, and other stakeholders. However, many of these websites had not been evaluated against human-centered design principles, leading to potential usability and accessibility issues that could hinder effective user interaction with critical health information and guidelines, thereby impacting public safety.

To address this, we conducted a study analyzing the usability of state public health websites across the US, identifying design flaws, and proposing recommendations to enhance the communication channels between health agencies and the public. Our findings were published in the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics (IJIE) and were included in Elsevier’s Public Health Emergency Collection on PubMed Central (PMC) during the pandemic. Additionally, our research was at the 2021 Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference and the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Conference. With collaboration with the PIC-HFE lab, the research is expanding by initiating a new direction in investigating long-term impacts and the impact of AI tools on accessibility development. 

1. Momenipour, A., Rojas-Murillo, S., Murphy, B., Pennathur, P., & Pennathur, A. (2021). Usability of state public health department websites for communication during a pandemic: A heuristic evaluation. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 86, 103216.

2. Murphy, B., Momenipour, A., Rojas-Murillo, S., Pennathur, P., & Pennathur, A. (2021). Usability of COVID-19 dedicated public health agency websites: A heuristic evaluation. Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference 2021 Annual Conference. Remote conference.

3. Pennathur, A., Momenipour, A., Pennathur, P., & Murphy, B. (2022). Evaluation of websites of state public health agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrating the degree of effort to design for accessibility. arXiv preprint arXiv:2203.07201.

4. Pennathur, A., Momenipour, A., Pennathur, P., & Murphy, B. (2024). Evaluating accessibility conformance of state public health agencies’ websites during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics. (Under Review).

5. Gonzalez, K., Momenipour, A., Pennathur, A., Murphy, B., & Pennathur, P. (2024). Evaluating accessibility conformance of state public health agencies’ websites during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Review, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering Annual Conference.

6. Gonzalez, K., Momenipour, A., Pennathur, A., & Pennathur, P. (2024). Accessibility evaluation of state public health department dashboards during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Review, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering Annual Conference.