The State of Health Equity and Disability—Supporting Diabetes Technology Usage in People Who Are Deaf/Hard of Hearing or Blind/Low Vision
Sunday, June 23, at 8:00 a.m. ET
Room W314
Orange County Convention Center
Enhancing Diabetes Technology Accessibility for Individuals Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision
Allyson S. Hughes, PhD
Assistant Professor,
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
What is your presentation about?
I will present on barriers blind/low vision people experience with diabetes technology including issues with displays, and the variability of operability with VoiceOver, Siri, Alexa, and other technology. My previous research has examined health disparities and lived experiences of people who are blind and live with diabetes. This presentation will highlight the importance of accessibility, the latest solutions and advancements and recommendations for clinicians, people with diabetes, and manufacturers.
How do you hope your presentation will impact diabetes research or care?
My goal is that this presentation will serve as a call to action to encourage stakeholders, including health care providers and technology developers, to prioritize and actively contribute to enhancing accessibility in diabetes technology. This presentation aims to raise awareness, share knowledge, and inspire actions that will lead to more inclusive and effective diabetes management solutions for individuals with vision loss. Specifically, this presentation will include suggestions for device manufacturers on how to design and implement more accessible diabetes technologies, covering guidelines for user interface design, the inclusion of assistive technology, and user testing with blind individuals.
How did you become involved with this area of diabetes research or care?
My research team is the first to study diabetes distress in people who are blind/low vision and further examine the lived experience of using diabetes technology while navigating blindness tools. This research direction came from a light bulb moment when educating my blind best friend on how to use glucagon.