Shepherd Center, Atlanta, GA 30309, USA.
Department of Sociology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 1;18(7):3669. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18073669.
Growing evidence demonstrates that people with disabilities face more challenges in accessing healthcare and wellness resources, compared to non-disabled populations. As mobile applications focused on health and wellness (mHealth apps) become prevalent, it is important that people with disabilities can access and use mHealth apps. At present, there is no source of unified information about the accessibility and usability of mHealth apps for people with disabilities. We set out to create such a source, establishing a systematic approach for evaluating app accessibility. Our goal was to develop a simple, replicable app evaluation process to generate useful information for people with disabilities (to aid suitable app selection) and app developers (to improve app accessibility and usability). We collected data using two existing assessment instruments to test three top-rated weight management apps with nine users representing three disability groups: vision, dexterity, and cognitive impairment. Participants with visual impairments reported the lowest accessibility ratings, most challenges, and least tolerance for issues. Participants with dexterity impairments experienced significant accessibility-related difficulties. Participants with cognitive impairments experienced mild difficulties and higher tolerances for issues. Our pilot protocol will be applied to test mHealth apps and populate a "curation" website to assist consumers in selecting mHealth apps.
越来越多的证据表明，与非残疾人群相比，残疾人士在获得医疗保健和健康资源方面面临更多挑战。随着专注于健康和健康的移动应用程序（移动健康应用程序，mHealth apps）变得越来越普及，残疾人士能够访问和使用 mHealth apps 非常重要。目前，尚无关于残疾人士可访问性和可用性的 mHealth apps 的统一信息来源。我们着手创建这样的来源，建立了一种评估应用程序可访问性的系统方法。我们的目标是开发一种简单、可复制的应用程序评估流程，为残疾人士（以帮助他们选择合适的应用程序）和应用程序开发人员（以提高应用程序的可访问性和可用性）生成有用的信息。我们使用两个现有的评估工具收集数据，以测试三个排名最高的体重管理应用程序，其中有九名用户代表三个残疾群体：视力、灵活性和认知障碍。视力障碍的参与者报告的可访问性评级最低，遇到的挑战最多，对问题的容忍度最低。灵活性障碍的参与者遇到了显著的与可访问性相关的困难。认知障碍的参与者遇到了轻微的困难和对问题的更高容忍度。我们的试点方案将用于测试 mHealth apps，并填充一个“策展”网站，以帮助消费者选择 mHealth apps。
