"Sighted People Have Their Pick Of The Litter": Unpacking The Need For Digital Mental Health (DMH) Tracking Services With And For The Blind Community

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Khan, Omar, Seo, JooYoung
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Khan, Omar
Seo, JooYoung
author_facet Khan, Omar
Seo, JooYoung
contents The proliferation of digital mental health (DMH) tracking services promises personalized support, yet accessibility barriers limit equal access. This study investigates blind community experiences with DMH tracking services across the United States as a step toward inclusive health technology design. Working with blind advocacy organizations, we distributed a cross-sectional observational survey (n = 93) and analyzed open-ended responses using Norman and Skinner's eHealth Literacy framework. Our findings reveal significant challenges in navigation, content interpretation, and overall user experience, which impede the blind community's effective engagement with DMH tools. Results highlight the need for adaptive interfaces, accessible tracking strategies, and voice-guided interactions. These insights inform design recommendations for developers and policymakers, promoting more inclusive mental health technologies. By prioritizing accessibility, we make forward progress in ensuring that DMH tracking services fulfill their potential to support mental well-being across diverse user groups, fostering digital equality in mental health care.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_07415
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle "Sighted People Have Their Pick Of The Litter": Unpacking The Need For Digital Mental Health (DMH) Tracking Services With And For The Blind Community
Khan, Omar
Seo, JooYoung
Human-Computer Interaction
The proliferation of digital mental health (DMH) tracking services promises personalized support, yet accessibility barriers limit equal access. This study investigates blind community experiences with DMH tracking services across the United States as a step toward inclusive health technology design. Working with blind advocacy organizations, we distributed a cross-sectional observational survey (n = 93) and analyzed open-ended responses using Norman and Skinner's eHealth Literacy framework. Our findings reveal significant challenges in navigation, content interpretation, and overall user experience, which impede the blind community's effective engagement with DMH tools. Results highlight the need for adaptive interfaces, accessible tracking strategies, and voice-guided interactions. These insights inform design recommendations for developers and policymakers, promoting more inclusive mental health technologies. By prioritizing accessibility, we make forward progress in ensuring that DMH tracking services fulfill their potential to support mental well-being across diverse user groups, fostering digital equality in mental health care.
title "Sighted People Have Their Pick Of The Litter": Unpacking The Need For Digital Mental Health (DMH) Tracking Services With And For The Blind Community
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.07415