Literature Reviews

Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.

• Involving Clinical Staff in the Design of a Support Tool to Improve Dental Communication for Patients with Intellectual Disabilities

  Rachel Menzies, Daniel Herron, Lesley Scott, Ruth Freeman, Annalu Waller (2013) — Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This poster paper describes a design workshop conducted as part of the "Stories at the Dentist" project, which aims to develop a computer-based support tool to help people with intellectual disabilities (ID) better understand dental procedures. Visit…

  • intellectual disability
  • healthcare accessibility
  • communication
  • user-centered design
  • clinical communication
  • social stories
  • dental care

• "I'm Just Overwhelmed": Investigating Physical Therapy Accessibility and Technology Interventions for People with Disabilities and/or Chronic Conditions

  Momona Yamagami, Kelly Mack, Jennifer Mankoff, Katherine M. Steele (2022) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This interview study examines physical therapy (PT) accessibility for people with disabilities and/or chronic conditions (da/cc), investigating both the barriers they face and opportunities for technology to help. The researchers conducted hour-long …

  • physical therapy
  • chronic conditions
  • healthcare accessibility
  • telerehabilitation
  • wearable technology
  • symptom fluctuation
  • insurance barriers
  • at-home exercise

• A Computer Vision-Based System for Stride Length Estimation using a Mobile Phone Camera

  Wei Zhu, Boyd Anderson, Shenggao Zhu, Ye Wang (2016) — ASSETS '16: Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents an affordable computer vision system for measuring stride length in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients using only a smartphone camera and a printed PVC mat. Gait analysis is a critical non-invasive method for PD diagnosis and asses…

  • Parkinson's disease
  • gait analysis
  • computer vision
  • mobile health
  • movement disorders
  • neurodegenerative diseases
  • low-cost technology
  • healthcare accessibility
  • motor impairment

• Iconic Communication System by XML Language: (SCILX)

  Nathalie Cindy Kuicheu, Laure Pauline Fotso, François Siewe (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the University of Yaoundé I (Cameroon) and De Montfort University (UK) presents SCILX, an XML-based iconic communication system that extends traditional iconic interfaces to enable communication through the Internet. Previous iconic s…

  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • iconic communication
  • XML
  • literacy
  • digital divide
  • Global Accessibility
  • healthcare accessibility
  • communication accessibility
  • developing countries

• Widening access to online health education for lung cancer: a feasibility study

  Julia Mueller, Alan Davies, Simon Harper, Caroline Jay, Chris Todd (2016) — Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents a feasibility study of "When2Go," a web-based lung cancer symptom appraisal tool designed to reach populations typically excluded from online health information: older adults with low education levels, low health literacy, and psy…

  • health literacy
  • healthcare accessibility
  • plain language
  • personalization
  • aging
  • digital inclusion
  • online health information
  • patient empowerment

• Lessons from Expert Focus Groups on how to Better Support Adults with Mild Intellectual Disabilities to Engage in Co-Design

  Ryan Colin Gibson, Mark D. Dunlop, Matt-Mouley Bouamrane (2020) — Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2020)

  This paper proposes and evaluates a two-stage procedure for making co-design workshops accessible to adults with mild intellectual disabilities (ID). The context is the development of a clinical AAC application to help people with mild ID communicate…

  • intellectual disability
  • co-design
  • participatory design
  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • healthcare accessibility
  • research methods
  • inclusive design
  • design methodology

• "I'm Ok Because I'm Alive": Understanding Socio-cultural Accessibility Barriers for Refugees with Disabilities in the US

  Foad Hamidi, Zulekha Karachiwalla (2022) — Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This qualitative study investigates the accessibility barriers faced by refugees with disabilities in the United States, drawing on interviews with six experts who serve refugee populations in Baltimore, Maryland. The research was conducted during th…

  • refugees
  • disability
  • mental health
  • cultural barriers
  • language access
  • healthcare accessibility
  • intersectionality
  • assistive technology

• Joint Bilingual Navigation of Informed Consent and Intake Forms in American Sign Language and Written English

  Matthew Seita, Michaela Usha, Rachel Skwersky, Poorna Kushalnagar, Raja Kushalnagar (2025) — Proceedings of the 22nd International Web for All Conference (W4A 2025)

  This paper presents a joint bilingual informed consent and intake form that can be navigated simultaneously in American Sign Language (ASL) and written English, addressing a critical accessibility barrier for the approximately 500,000 Americans who p…

  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • sign language recognition
  • informed consent
  • healthcare accessibility
  • American Sign Language
  • bilingual interfaces
  • machine learning