Abstract
This chapter deals with accessibility, a relevant and important concept for every citizen in the improvement of their quality of life in any environment or daily situation. Specifically, an empirical study about accessibility in the public health centers of a Basic Health Area (BHA) of Jaén is carried out. From this study, accessibility deficiencies in health buildings are revealed, and explicit proposals are provided with the aim of improving accessibility in different scopes such as information and communications. The improvement plans based on the use of Technology, Information, and Communication (TIC) tools help sensory disabled users that attend to the Health Center.
TopThe Concept Of Accessibility
By 1974, at the “Expert Group Meeting on Barrier-Free Design” held in New York City, we find the first background to the interest in removing physical obstacles for people with disabilities so that they can participate fully in the life of society.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Local Clinic: A local clinic is a health building sited in the head of the municipality whose distance to the nearest HC is more than 15 minutes. Local clinics offers the same type of care that a HC and attend to 1.500 habitants, approximately.
Health Center (HC): The primary care centers of every HBA are physical structures where professionals develop the activities proper to an integral primary care, focused on citizens. Thus, health centers are the closest public health service reference to the population.
Disability: Disability is a person some of whose normal daily activities are impeded or hindered due to the alteration of their intellectual or physical functions ( http://www.Rae.es/ ).
DALCO Criteria: They are a series of requirements related to the actions of 4 wide groups ( AENOR, 2007 ): Ambulation, Apprehension, Location and Communication. These actions must be satisfied in order to guarantee the global accessibility to environments, products, and services.
Health Center (HC): The primary care centers of every HBA are physical structures where professionals develop the activities proper to an integral primary care, focused on citizens. Thus, health centers are the closest public health service reference to the population.
Accessibility: Accessibility is a basic characteristic of the built environment, is the condition that makes possible to arrive, entry, exit and use houses, shops, theatres, parks and work places (European Union, 1996 AU46: The in-text citation "European Union, 1996" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ) and it allows people to participate in the social and economic activities for which they have been designed. It follows that, where there is a lack of accessibility, for example, with physical barriers, that people can suffer some degree of marginalization and, logically, a loss of quality of life with respect to others who do not suffer this lack, being worst for disabled persons (European Union, 1996 AU47: The in-text citation "European Union, 1996" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Design for All or Universal Design: The design of products and environments to be usable by all people , to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design ( Mace, 1985 ).
Basic Health Area (BHA): A Basic Health Area is the territorial framework for the Primary Health Care (PHC), the direct access for the population in which the basic and integral health cares is supplied. A BHA is constituted by the municipality or group of municipalities that determines the PHC map.
Accessibility: Accessibility is a basic characteristic of the built environment, is the condition that makes possible to arrive, entry, exit and use houses, shops, theatres, parks and work places (European Union, 1996) and it allows people to participate in the social and economic activities for which they have been designed. It follows that, where there is a lack of accessibility, for example, with physical barriers, that people can suffer some degree of marginalization and, logically, a loss of quality of life with respect to others who do not suffer this lack, being worst for disabled persons (European Union, 1996).
DALCO Criteria: They are a series of requirements related to the actions of 4 wide groups (AENOR, 2007): Ambulation, Apprehension, Location and Communication. These actions must be satisfied in order to guarantee the global accessibility to environments, products, and services.
Disability: Disability is a person some of whose normal daily activities are impeded or hindered due to the alteration of their intellectual or physical functions (http://www.Rae.es/).
Local Clinic: A local clinic is a health building sited in the head of the municipality whose distance to the nearest HC is more than 15 minutes. Local clinics offers the same type of care that a HC and attend to 1.500 habitants, approximately.
Basic Health Area (BHA): A Basic Health Area is the territorial framework for the Primary Health Care (PHC), the direct access for the population in which the basic and integral health cares is supplied. A BHA is constituted by the municipality or group of municipalities that determines the PHC map.
Design for All or Universal Design: The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design (Mace, 1985).