Personal Health Data Tracking by Blind and Low-Vision People: A Survey Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Personal health technologies including wearable tracking devices and mobile apps hold great potential to equip the general populations with the ability to monitor and manage their health. However, being designed for sighted people, much of their functionality is largely inaccessible for the blind and low-vision (BLV) population, threatening the equitable access to personal health data (PHD) and health care services. OBJECTIVE We aim to understand why and how BLV people collect and use their PHD and what 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. METHODS We conducted an online/phone survey with 156 BLV people. We reported on quantitative and qualitative findings regarding their PHD tracking practices, needs, accessibility barriers, and workaround. RESULTS BLV respondents have strong desires and needs to track PHD, and many of them are already tracking their data despite many hurdles. Popular tracking items—exercise, weight, sleep, and food—and the reasons for tracking are 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. Main barriers our respondents experienced include suboptimal tracking experiences and not enough benefits against the extended burden for BLV people. CONCLUSIONS We report findings that contribute to an in-depth understanding of BLV people’s motivations in PHD tracking, tracking practices, challenges, and workarounds. Our findings suggest that various accessibility challenges hinder BLV individuals from effectively gaining the benefits of self-tracking technologies. Based on the findings, we discuss design opportunities and research areas to focus on in making PHD tracking technologies accessible for all, including BLV people. CLINICALTRIAL