Design Goals for Playful Technology to Support Physical Activity Among Wheelchair Users

Playful technology has the potential to support physical activity (PA) among wheelchair users, but little is known about design considerations for this audience, who experience significant access barriers. In this paper, we leverage the Integrated Behavioural Model (IBM) to understand wheelchair users’ perspectives on PA, technology, and play. First, we present findings from an interview study with eight physically active wheelchair users. Second, we build on the interviews in a survey that received 44 responses from a broader group of wheelchair users. Results show that the anticipation of positive experiences was the strongest predictor of engagement with PA, and that accessibility concerns act as barriers both in terms of PA participation and technology use. We present four design goals - emphasizing enjoyment, involving others, building knowledge and enabling flexibility - to make our findings actionable for researchers and designers wishing to create accessible playful technology to support PA

Research and Industry Practices in Designing Clothes for Optimal Participation of Persons with a Physical Disability

Contexte : Les vêtements sont importants dans la société et favorisent la participation des personnes ayant des déficiences physiques. Il existe peu d’information indiquant si l’industrie de la mode comprend leurs besoins. Objectifs : 1) Examiner le rôle des vêtements sur la participation des personnes ayant une déficience physique. 2) Explorer les perspectives des représentants de l'industrie de la mode vis à vis la littérature ainsi que les facteurs influençant la mobilisation des connaissances. Méthodologie : 1) Un examen de la portée a été réalisé à partir de six bases de données scientifiques, Google et plusieurs consultations d’experts. 2) Des entretiens semi-structurés ont été menés auprès des représentants de l'industrie de la mode. Résultats : 1) Cinquante-sept articles et 88 sites Web ont été sélectionnés. Des problèmes vestimentaires affectant la mobilité et les soins ressortaient fréquemment ainsi que divers facteurs personnels. Quarante-neuf pourcent des articles décrivaient des caractéristiques essentielles à la conception de vêtements adaptés. 2) Cinq entrevues révèlent l’importance de l’acquisition des connaissances pour concevoir des vêtements adaptés. Des barrières de temps, de fabrication et de commercialisation ont été identifiées au sein de l’industrie. Plus de ressources, de visibilité, de consultation et d’engagement de l’industrie permettraient des avancées dans le domaine du vêtement adapté. Conclusion : Les vêtements influencent de façon multidimensionnelle la participation des personnes. Un meilleur partenariat entre les chercheurs, les cliniciens, les personnes ayant des déficiences et l’industrie de la mode pourrait améliorer la conception de vêtement adaptés.Background: Clothing is important in human societies and could play a central role in optimizing participation of persons with physical disabilities. It is unclear whether the fashion industry understands the clothing needs of these individuals. Objectives: 1) Examine the role of clothing on participation of persons with physical disabilities, 2) Explore perspectives of representatives of the fashion industry vis à vis the literature and factors influencing uptake of this knowledge. Methodology: 1) A scoping review including six research databases, Google, and multiple expert consultations was performed. 2) Semi-structured interviews with fashion industry representatives were conducted. Results: 1) Fifty-seven articles and 88 websites were retrieved. Clothing-related issues impacting Mobility and Self-Care were frequently reported as were various personal factors. Forty-nine percent of articles reported essential clothing design features. 2) Five interviews found that acquiring knowledge for designing adapted clothing is important and time-, manufacturing-, marketing-, and purchasing-related barriers exist in the industry. Increased resources, exposure, guidance, and engagement within the fashion industry may help advance the field of adapted clothing. Conclusion: Clothing has a multidimensional influence on participation. Solidifying collaborations between researchers, clinicians, persons with disabilities, and the fashion industry may add credibility to future clothing designs

“That’s for old so and so’s!”: does identity influence older adults’ technology adoption decisions?

The role of identity in older adults’ decision-making about assistive technology adoption has been suggested but not fully explored. This scoping review was conducted to better understand how older adults’ self-image and their desire to maintain this, influences their decision-making processes regarding assistive technology adoption. Using the five-stage scoping review framework by Arksey and O’Malley, a total of 416 search combinations were run across 9 databases, resulting in a final yield of 49 articles. From these 49 articles, five themes emerged: (1) Resisting the negative reality of an ageing and/or disabled identity; (2) Independence and control are key; (3) The aesthetic dimension of usability; (4) Assistive technology as a last resort; and (5) Privacy versus pragmatics. The findings highlight the importance of older adults’ desire to portray an identity consistent with independence, self-reliance and competence, and how this desire directly impacts their assistive technology decision-making adoption patterns. These findings aim to support the adoption of assistive technologies by older adults to facilitate engagement in meaningful activities, enable social participation within the community, and promote health and well-being in later life

Accessibility of Health Data Representations for Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for Design

Health data of consumer off-the-shelf wearable devices is often conveyed to users through visual data representations and analyses. However, this is not always accessible to people with disabilities or older people due to low vision, cognitive impairments or literacy issues. Due to trade-offs between aesthetics predominance or information overload, real-time user feedback may not be conveyed easily from sensor devices through visual cues like graphs and texts. These difficulties may hinder critical data understanding. Additional auditory and tactile feedback can also provide immediate and accessible cues from these wearable devices, but it is necessary to understand existing data representation limitations initially. To avoid higher cognitive and visual overload, auditory and haptic cues can be designed to complement, replace or reinforce visual cues. In this paper, we outline the challenges in existing data representation and the necessary evidence to enhance the accessibility of health information from personal sensing devices used to monitor health parameters such as blood pressure, sleep, activity, heart rate and more. By creating innovative and inclusive user feedback, users will likely want to engage and interact with new devices and their own data