Armstrong-Wood, Richard;
Messiou, Chrysovalanto;
Kite, Amber;
Joyce, Elisabeth;
Panousis, Stephanie;
Campbell, Hannah;
Lauriau, Arnaud;
... Carlson, Tom; + view all
(2023)
Smartphone accessibility: Understanding the lived experience of users with cervical spinal cord injuries.
Disability and Rehabilitation Assistive Technology
10.1080/17483107.2023.2192246.
(In press).
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Abstract
Purpose: To explore accessibility challenges encountered by smartphone users with cervical spinal cord injuries (C1-C8).To investigate the suitability of current technology and make recommendations to help future technology meet user needs. Methods: The study uses a mixed-method approach combining an inductive thematic analysis of nine semi-structured interviews with a quantitative analysis of thirty-nine questionnaires. Results: The analysis generated four themes: ’the drive for independence and self-efficacy’; ’trying to make it work’; ’getting the right technology for me’; ’using the phone as and when I want to’. These themes highlighted how unresolved access issues and situational barriers limited independence and created unwanted privacy compromises for effective communication. There was a lack of information or support on available smartphone accessibility features and assistive technology (AT). Smartphone AT was regarded as overpriced, poorly designed and lacking the voices of people with disabilities. Conclusions: The smartphone’s potential to improve quality of life, participation, and well-being is limited by accessibility challenges hindering independent and private smartphone use. Future design work should focus on improving accessibility, investigating reasons for AT’s poor quality and high cost, and removing barriers to end-user inclusion. To enhance user awareness of available technology, stakeholders should build and maintain an open platform to act as an information source for peer and professional support on assistive technology.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Smartphone accessibility: Understanding the lived experience of users with cervical spinal cord injuries |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/17483107.2023.2192246 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2023.2192246 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Spinal cord injury; accessibility; smartphone; assistive technology; thematic analysis; mixed methods; usability |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci > Department of Ortho and MSK Science |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10166687 |
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