College of Information Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States.
Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States.
J Med Internet Res. 2023 May 4;25:e43917. doi: 10.2196/43917.
Personal 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.
This 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.
We 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.
BLV 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.
We 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.
个人健康技术，包括可穿戴追踪设备和移动应用程序，具有使普通大众能够监测和管理自身健康的巨大潜力。然而，由于这些技术是为明眼人设计的，其大部分功能对于视障和低视力（BLV）人群来说是无法访问的，这威胁到了他们公平获取个人健康数据（PHD）和医疗保健服务的机会。
本研究旨在了解 BLV 人群为何以及如何收集和使用他们的 PHD，以及他们在这样做时面临的障碍。这些知识可以让无障碍研究人员和技术公司了解 BLV 人群所经历的独特自我追踪需求和无障碍挑战。
我们对 156 名 BLV 人群进行了基于网络和电话的调查。我们报告了他们关于 PHD 追踪实践、需求、无障碍障碍和解决方法的定量和定性发现。
BLV 受访者强烈希望并需要追踪 PHD，尽管存在许多障碍，他们中的许多人已经在追踪他们的数据。流行的追踪项目（如运动、体重、睡眠和饮食）和追踪的原因与明眼人相似。然而，BLV 人群在自我追踪的所有阶段都面临许多无障碍挑战，从识别追踪工具到查看数据。受访者主要遇到的障碍包括跟踪体验不佳和对 BLV 人群来说额外负担的收益不足。
我们报告了研究结果，这些结果有助于深入了解 BLV 人群对 PHD 追踪的动机、追踪实践、挑战和解决方法。我们的研究结果表明，各种无障碍挑战阻碍了 BLV 个体从自我追踪技术中有效获益。基于这些发现，我们讨论了设计机会和研究领域，重点是使所有人群（包括 BLV 人群）都能使用 PHD 追踪技术。
