Nielsen, Kallie Improving Mobile Applications for Limited Mobility Access and Navigation in the U.S. Thesis. Radford University Scholars' Repository.
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Abstract
According to the World Health Organization, over a billion people, about 15% of the world’s population, have some form of disability. People who have limited mobility, and are often classified as disabled, are unfortunately still faced with a number of physical barriers that prevent them from using public spaces. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences that the limited mobility disabled community face while navigating both rural and metropolitan areas when using assistive mobile applications and to provide suggestions to improve these existing applications. Design-thinking methods were used to help implement the research process including: system usability scale (online questionnaire), walk-a-mile, video journaling, and think-aloud testing. Assistive navigation apps yielded truly important understandings about user experiences, as the study clearly showed. It was found, through a System Usability Scale (SUS) survey of 51 participants, that while apps such as Google Maps enjoyed common use, subtle accessibility challenges were often unaddressed. Inaccurate GPS positioning, an important lack of real-time updates, along with severely limited usability in rural areas, were among the commonly encountered problems. Participants drew attention to a need for importantly greater accuracy, more user-driven content, along with larger coverage of smaller towns as well as rural areas, in spite of mostly favorable ease-of-use, and integration ratings. Poor infrastructure in rural areas, along with the lack of real-time feedback mechanisms in mobile apps, were discovered during the Walk-a-Mile video immersion as additional barriers. App limitations became strikingly more apparent due to severely difficult weather conditions, uneven terrains, along with temporary barriers such as pandemic-related restrictions. Adaptive design, dynamic updates, and improved reporting systems are absolutely critical, as reflections clearly showed, for supporting the diverse needs of mobility. Improved app functionality urgently needs development to help users with disabilities gain more independence as well as accessibility.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general |
| Divisions: | Radford University > College of Visual and Performing Arts > Department of Design |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Jun 2025 00:20 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Jun 2025 00:20 |
| URI: | http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/1170 |
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