Personal Health Data Tracking by Blind and Low-Vision People: Survey Study
BackgroundPersonal health technologies, including wearable tracking devices and mobile apps, have great potential to equip the general population with the ability to monitor and manage their health. However, being designed for sighted people, much of their functionality is la...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Medical Internet Research |
| Online Access: | https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e43917 |
| _version_ | 1827857399668539392 |
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| author | Jarrett G W Lee Kyungyeon Lee Bongshin Lee Soyoung Choi JooYoung Seo Eun Kyoung Choe |
| author_facet | Jarrett G W Lee Kyungyeon Lee Bongshin Lee Soyoung Choi JooYoung Seo Eun Kyoung Choe |
| author_sort | Jarrett G W Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundPersonal health technologies, including wearable tracking devices and mobile apps, have great potential to equip the general population with the ability to monitor and manage their health. However, being designed for sighted people, much of their functionality is largely inaccessible to the blind and low-vision (BLV) population, threatening the equitable access to personal health data (PHD) and health care services.
ObjectiveThis study aims to understand why and how BLV people collect and use their PHD and the obstacles they face in doing so. Such knowledge can inform accessibility researchers and technology companies of the unique self-tracking needs and accessibility challenges that BLV people experience.
MethodsWe conducted a web-based and phone survey with 156 BLV people. We reported on quantitative and qualitative findings regarding their PHD tracking practices, needs, accessibility barriers, and work-arounds.
ResultsBLV respondents had strong desires and needs to track PHD, and many of them were already tracking their data despite many hurdles. Popular tracking items (ie, exercise, weight, sleep, and food) and the reasons for tracking were similar to those of sighted people. BLV people, however, face many accessibility challenges throughout all phases of self-tracking, from identifying tracking tools to reviewing data. The main barriers our respondents experienced included suboptimal tracking experiences and insufficient benefits against the extended burden for BLV people.
ConclusionsWe reported the findings that contribute to an in-depth understanding of BLV people’s motivations for PHD tracking, tracking practices, challenges, and work-arounds. Our findings suggest that various accessibility challenges hinder BLV individuals from effectively gaining the benefits of self-tracking technologies. On the basis of the findings, we discussed design opportunities and research areas to focus on making PHD tracking technologies accessible for all, including BLV people. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:40:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0bcd28b8b4bb483d9955500ccfcdd4f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1438-8871 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:40:00Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Medical Internet Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-0bcd28b8b4bb483d9955500ccfcdd4f92023-08-28T23:52:09ZengJMIR PublicationsJournal of Medical Internet Research1438-88712023-05-0125e4391710.2196/43917Personal Health Data Tracking by Blind and Low-Vision People: Survey StudyJarrett G W Leehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6783-8129Kyungyeon Leehttps://orcid.org/0009-0001-8966-6209Bongshin Leehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4217-627XSoyoung Choihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0998-3352JooYoung Seohttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4064-6012Eun Kyoung Choehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5038-8320 BackgroundPersonal health technologies, including wearable tracking devices and mobile apps, have great potential to equip the general population with the ability to monitor and manage their health. However, being designed for sighted people, much of their functionality is largely inaccessible to the blind and low-vision (BLV) population, threatening the equitable access to personal health data (PHD) and health care services. ObjectiveThis study aims to understand why and how BLV people collect and use their PHD and the obstacles they face in doing so. Such knowledge can inform accessibility researchers and technology companies of the unique self-tracking needs and accessibility challenges that BLV people experience. MethodsWe conducted a web-based and phone survey with 156 BLV people. We reported on quantitative and qualitative findings regarding their PHD tracking practices, needs, accessibility barriers, and work-arounds. ResultsBLV respondents had strong desires and needs to track PHD, and many of them were already tracking their data despite many hurdles. Popular tracking items (ie, exercise, weight, sleep, and food) and the reasons for tracking were similar to those of sighted people. BLV people, however, face many accessibility challenges throughout all phases of self-tracking, from identifying tracking tools to reviewing data. The main barriers our respondents experienced included suboptimal tracking experiences and insufficient benefits against the extended burden for BLV people. ConclusionsWe reported the findings that contribute to an in-depth understanding of BLV people’s motivations for PHD tracking, tracking practices, challenges, and work-arounds. Our findings suggest that various accessibility challenges hinder BLV individuals from effectively gaining the benefits of self-tracking technologies. On the basis of the findings, we discussed design opportunities and research areas to focus on making PHD tracking technologies accessible for all, including BLV people.https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e43917 |
| spellingShingle | Jarrett G W Lee Kyungyeon Lee Bongshin Lee Soyoung Choi JooYoung Seo Eun Kyoung Choe Personal Health Data Tracking by Blind and Low-Vision People: Survey Study Journal of Medical Internet Research |
| title | Personal Health Data Tracking by Blind and Low-Vision People: Survey Study |
| title_full | Personal Health Data Tracking by Blind and Low-Vision People: Survey Study |
| title_fullStr | Personal Health Data Tracking by Blind and Low-Vision People: Survey Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Personal Health Data Tracking by Blind and Low-Vision People: Survey Study |
| title_short | Personal Health Data Tracking by Blind and Low-Vision People: Survey Study |
| title_sort | personal health data tracking by blind and low vision people survey study |
| url | https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e43917 |
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