Smartphone usage among people living with severe visual impairment and blindness
Abstract
Low vision care and rehabilitation is often limited by access to assistive devices, especially in low-resourced countries, due to their high cost and unavailability. Smartphones have the potential to serve as an alternative assistive device for people living with severe visual impairment and blindness (SVIB). This study aims to investigate the use of smartphones among people living with SVIB. The study was a cross-sectional study of 166 people living with SVIB in a low resourced setting. The participants were recruited from two tertiary institutions and four eye care facilities. A questionnaire was administered to all respondents and for those who could not read prints they were read out to them and their responses recorded. The majority of respondents (n = 88, 53.1%) either had no phone or used a basic phone. The prevalence of smartphone usage among people living with SVIB was found to be 46.90% (n = 78). Most respondents use their smartphones to interact on social media [n = 75 (96%)] and web browsing [n = 69,92%]. The most frequently demanded [n = 22 (44%)] smartphone functionality by the respondents was the image and color description feature. Most participants were unaware that 90% of their functionality demands already existed and were compatible with current smartphones. A significant number of people living with SVIB in this study used smartphones; however, most users are unaware of its full functionality and assistive capabilities.
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Mobile screen readers, such as VoiceOver and TalkBack, have image description features, but BVI users may not be aware of them.
“Moreover, mobile screen readers, such as VoiceOver and TalkBack, have image description features [6,19], but BVI users may not be aware of them.”
From Help-Seeking Situations Related to Visual Interactions on Mobile Platforms and Recommended Designs for Blind and Visually Impaired Users (2024) · cites this paper as [6]
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- Authors
- Abraham, C. H., Boadi-Kusi, B., Morny, E. K. A., & Agyekum, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Cape Coast (GH)
- Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
- Corresponding author
- Abraham, Carl Halladay
- Venue
- Assistive Technology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2021-05-03
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 611-618
- ISSN
- 1040-0435 (ISSN-L)
- 1949-3614
- OpenAlex
- W3137547366
- Cited by
- 49
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 15.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Assistive Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Ophthalmology and Visual Impairment Studies
- Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Digital Accessibility for Disabilities
- Keywords
- smartphone use, severe visual impairment, blindness, low vision rehabilitation, social media use, web browsing, resource-limited settings
- MeSH terms
- Smartphone, Blindness, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Vision Disorders, Vision, Low
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