Focus Area #4
Accessibility of Information & Services
How does your organization widen the welcome? How do you increase access to services and cultivate belonging with community members, partners, and others? Explore these questions and more below.
Ways to Get Started:
- Review Focus Area #4 in the toolkit beginning on page 51. Download Advancing Organizational Health Literacy (English | Spanish | screen-reader-friendly version).
- Take the self-assessment for Focus Area #4 beginning on page 7. Download Organizational Health Literacy Assessment (English | Spanish).
- Continue exploring the themes and resources below.
Additional Resources
On May 15, 2026, we held the webinar, Safe, Seen, Supported: Creating Places of Belonging in Your Organization with CCDPH’s Dr. Darcie Moeller and Literacy Works’ Tiara Whitlock and Melanie Sampson as well as a panel of special guests:
- Tiffany Favers, Manager of Cultural and Community Engagement, AgeOptions
- Manuel Gonzalez, Community Organizer, Progress Center for Independent Living
- Loree Woodley, Community Member, Progress Center for Independent Living
The webinar explored how we can create welcoming spaces that promote accessibility broadly in a variety of ways.
Check out the webinar and its related resources on accessibility of information and services below.
Webinar
Review the presentation slides (PDF) or watch the recording below.
Inclusive Language Guide
Check out this guide on inclusive language (PDF) to start a conversation with your team about the words you use to describe people and places in your communities.
Effective Translation + Interpretation Services
Watch the Communications Corner short video below to learn about ways to make translation or interpretation work for your community members and your team – or check out this quick overview (PDF).
External Resources
Accessibility and Disability
- Access Living – Chicago-based organization offering varied resources, advocacy, and services by and for people with disabilities
- Communicate Health: Inclusive Language Playbook Writing About Disability – Overview of inclusive language for writing to and about people with disabilities
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Improving Access to Care for People with Disabilities – Resources including the guide, Getting the Care You Need, available in eight language
- Disability in Public Health: Including People with Disabilities Public Health Workforce Competencies – Insights into inclusive practices in public health
- General Services Administration: Create Successful Meetings – Various resources and strategies for creating accessible meeting environments in person and online
- WebAIM: Introduction to Web Accessibility – Overview of principles of accessible web design for online interactions
Supporting LGBTQ+ Communities
- Communicate Health: Inclusive Language Playbook Writing for LGBTQ+ Communities – Overview of inclusive language for writing to and about LGBTQ+ communities
- Society of Gynecologic Oncology: Welcoming Spaces Treating Your LGBTQ+ Patients – Series of free online modules on supporting LGBTQ+ patients
Translation and Interpretation
- Literacy Works’ Clear Language Lab: Plain Language + Translation Tips and Strategies – Provides overview of translating with a plain language lens
- US Department of Health and Human Services: Think Cultural Health (PDF) – Checklist for professional interacting with interpreters
Trauma-Informed Practices
- Center for Health Care Strategies: Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Resource Center – Comprehensive overview of trauma-informed practices
- Cook County Health Trauma-Informed Approaches Task Force: Best Practices for Creating a Trauma-Informed Organization (PDF) Overview on applying trauma-informed practices from local healthcare practitioners
- Literacy Works: Clear Language Lab Library Resources on Trauma-Informed Communication – Webinars and blog posts on trauma-informed communication
Updated May 29, 2026, 12:54 PM