Making Diabetes Education Accessible for People With Visual Impairment

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to identify changes needed to make the diabetes education materials and programs of the Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland (DAGC) accessible for people who have visual impairment and diabetes (PVID).MethodsUsing the principles and techniques of participatory action research (PAR), 5 PVID and 4 staff members of a local diabetes association met once a month for a year to plan, implement, and evaluate progress toward full accessibility of all diabetes education materials and programs. The researcher served as facilitator.ResultsFour “transformational moments” are presented through which the PAR process enabled PVID and diabetes professionals to learn to understand and trust each other. Changes made to increase accessibility included production of 2 recordings for providing access to print information about diabetes; planning public education program publicity and locations for access; development of guidelines to help speakers make their diabetes education presenta...