Making Health Accessible: Universal Design Strategies That Work for Everyone
In the United States, more than one in four adults experiences a disability. According to the CDC, people with disabilities are three times more likely to experience chronic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. This lecture explores the health disparities faced by people with disabilities and introduces Universal Design as a framework for creating more inclusive health programs and services.
Participants will learn key principles and practical strategies of Universal Design that promote equitable access and meaningful participation for all individuals. The session highlights why Universal Design is essential in health promotion and demonstrates how inclusive approaches benefit the widest possible audience, including people with disabilities. Through real-world examples, the presentation illustrates how Universal Design can be applied across healthcare access, education, health messaging, and program activities.
At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Describe Universal Design and how it benefits meaningful engagement for all audiences
- Explain disability and the benefits of inclusive health programming for individuals with disabilities
- Demonstrate strategies to incorporate universal design and implement accessible health programming
HESPA III Competencies Include:
9.1.4 |Entry| Promote health equity.
9.2.2 |Entry| Foster a positive organizational culture and climate that respects individual characteristics and needs.
Lindsey Catherine Mullis, M.S., PhD ABD
Program Director
University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute
With more than 15 years of experience working in the disability and health community, Ms. Mullis brings deep expertise in applying universal design strategies to health programs and services at the local, national, and international levels. Her work emphasizes inclusive practices that expand access and participation. Ms. Mullis holds an educational background in psychology, exercise science, and health promotion, along with a certificate in developmental disabilities. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Health Education Sciences with a certificate in research methods and focus on disability and sexuality. She is a certified Health Promotion Clinical Director for Special Olympics and has served on the Special Olympics Inclusive Health Advisory Board. In addition to her professional expertise, she brings valuable lived experience as the parent of a daughter with Down syndrome and a vision disability.
Micki Hrncir (Moderator)
MS
Arizona State University
Micki Hrncir, MS, MCHES, NBC-HWC, is an Associate Teaching Professor at Arizona State University. For nearly a decade at ASU’s College of Health Solutions, she has taught a diverse range of courses covering foundational health principles, injury prevention, emotional health, wellness, and program management. Throughout her time at ASU, she has been fortunate to take on various leadership roles, including Program Director and Interim Program Director, allowing her to shape and enhance academic programs that address critical public health issues. These roles have allowed her to collaborate with faculty, engage in curriculum design, and create innovative strategies for educating future health professionals. She takes pride in developing engaging, practical course content that prepares students for real-world health education and promotion challenges. When she is not working, she adventures with her husband and with her children, ages four and two, snuggles her cat, and takes road trips throughout the southwest.
Sponsored by the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.0 total Category I contact education contact hours. Maximum advanced-level continuing education contact hours available for this session is 0. Provider ID #98029 and Activity ID 0126018DL.
Making Health Accessible: Universal Design Strategies That Work for Everyone
Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) | October 20, 2026 | 2:00–3:00 PM ET | Online webinar | National Health Education Week 2026
What You’ll Learn: Explore how Universal Design can make healthcare, health education and community programs more accessible to people of all abilities. Learn practical strategies for reducing participation barriers, creating inclusive health communications and designing services that accommodate diverse physical, sensory, cognitive and developmental needs. Examine real-world examples of Universal Design applied to healthcare access, education and public health programs.
Why This Matters: More than one in four U.S. adults lives with a disability, and people with disabilities experience significant disparities in healthcare access and chronic disease outcomes. Healthcare and public information systems that overlook accessibility can reinforce preventable inequalities. Universal Design shifts the focus from accommodating individuals after barriers arise to creating systems that are accessible from the beginning—improving participation, independence and health outcomes across communities.
Action Level: LEARN
What You’ll Leave With: Practical Universal Design principles, strategies for improving accessibility in health programs, examples of inclusive communication and service delivery, and a clearer understanding of how organizations can remove barriers to participation. Eligible Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES/MCHES) may earn up to 1.0 Category I continuing education contact hour.
Best For: Public health professionals, healthcare administrators, health educators, disability rights advocates, community organizations, nonprofit leaders, policymakers, educators, social workers, accessibility specialists, municipal planners and organizations working to improve health equity.
Systems It Connects To:
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Public and planetary health
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Human and civil rights
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Smarter cities, ICT and accessible infrastructure
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Personal and digital democracy
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Media and storytelling
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Transportation and mobility
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Education and workforce development
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Community resilience and inclusive systems design
Languages: English (expected; additional interpretation services are not specified).
Accessibility and Participation Support: Online webinar through SOPHE’s learning platform with advance registration. The program includes a presentation, pre-test, post-test, evaluation and continuing education certificate for eligible participants. Live captioning, sign-language interpretation, transcripts and other specific accessibility accommodations are not confirmed in the event listing.
Recording / Replay Available? Unknown. SOPHE lists the event within its learning platform, including an on-demand catalog, but does not explicitly confirm a replay for this particular webinar.
Replay / Resource URL: Official webinar registration and course page. No separate replay URL is confirmed.
Practical Next Step: Register for the webinar and evaluate an existing health education program, healthcare service or community initiative for accessibility barriers. Identify improvements to communication materials, digital platforms, physical environments and participation procedures. Apply Universal Design principles to create more inclusive services, ideally involving people with disabilities in the assessment and redesign process.
Mobilized action pathway: Connect healthcare organizations, disability rights advocates, accessibility specialists, educators and community leaders through the Mobilized Exchange and Network. Identify successful inclusive health initiatives, document evidence of improved access and participation, and share replicable approaches that help communities design accessible services from the outset. Encourage collaboration among health professionals, technology developers and people with lived experience of disability.
Source: Society for Public Health Education, official webinar announcement. Featured presenter: Lindsey Catherine Mullis, Program Director, University of Kentucky Human Development Institute. Moderator: Micki Hrncir, Arizona State University. Learning outcomes and Mobilized action recommendations are editorial adaptations.