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• Bridging the Digital Divide: Enhancing Digital Inclusion of Blind or Partially Sighted and Deaf or Hard of Hearing Individuals in Low- and Middle-Income Countries through Smartphones as Assistive Technology

  Maryam Bandukda, Mary Caroline Yuk, Giulia Barbareschi, Laxmi Gunupudi, Vinicius Ramos, Amit Prakash, Satish Mishra, Victoria Austin, Catherine Holloway · 2026 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This multi-country study evaluates a two-day scaffolded digital skills training intervention designed to improve smartphone proficiency among blind or partially sighted (BPS) and deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) individuals in Brazil, India, and Kenya. The research recruited 395…

  digital inclusion · digital literacy · LMIC · blind and low vision · deaf and hard of hearing

• Toward a Multi-layer Framework to Assess the Quality of Life Impact of Smartphones as Assistive Technology for People with Sensory Disabilities in Kenya

  Maryam Bandukda, Lan Xiao, Giulia Barbareschi, Philip Oyier, Henry Athiany, Raul Szekely, Wallace M Karuguti, Mwangi J Matheri MJM, Victoria Austin, Catherine Holloway · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents the first longitudinal mixed-methods study investigating the impact of smartphones as assistive technology on the quality of life (QoL) of blind or partially sighted (BPS) and deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) individuals in Kenya. The study involved 193…

  smartphones · assistive technology · Global South · Kenya · blindness and visual impairment

• "I Want to Connect, But...": Exploring Socially Isolated Older Adults' Views on Social Engagement and Technology for Connecting

  Chia Hsin (Josette) Lee, Rachana Nataraj, Aqueasha Martin-Hammond · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents a qualitative study examining how socially isolated older adults perceive social engagement and the role technology might play in supporting their connections. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 adults aged 60 to 84 recruited from…

  social isolation · older adults · aging · qualitative research · social technology

• Understanding the Video Content Creation Journey of Creators with Sensory Impairment in Kenya

  Lan Xiao, Maryam Bandukda, Franklin Mingzhe Li, Mark Colley, Catherine Holloway · 2025 · Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2025)

  This paper presents the first in-depth qualitative study of video content creation by people with visual and hearing impairments in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC) context, specifically Kenya. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 video creators in…

  video content creation · sensory impairment · visual impairment · deaf and hard of hearing · low- and middle-income countries

• Accessible Workplaces through Accessible ICT Solutions and Inclusive Procurement Practices

  Radostina Tsvetkova · 2025 · Proceedings of the 22nd International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This short paper examines how accessible ICT solutions and inclusive procurement practices can help reduce digital barriers in workplaces, with a focus on the Norwegian context. Tsvetkova argues that inaccessible workplace technology is a significant barrier to employment for…

  accessible workplaces · inclusive procurement · digital inclusion · workplace accessibility · ICT accessibility

• Accessible Web Design for Older Adults: Challenges and Solutions

  Washington Chiriboga-Casanova, Nuria Medina-Medina, Patricia Paderewski-Rodríguez · 2025 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This systematic literature review analyzes 4,052 articles published between 2014 and 2023 to comprehensively map the challenges older adults face online and the solutions proposed to address them. Using the PRISMA methodology and PICO framework, the authors selected 35 studies…

  systematic review · older adults · web accessibility · aging · design guidelines

• accessFinTech: Designing Accessible Financial Technology

  Jiamin Dai, Benjamin M. Gorman, Garreth W. Tigwell, Helena Marie Lyhme, Belén Barros Pena, Karyn Moffatt, Celine Latulipe · 2024 · Proceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2024)

  This workshop proposal addresses the growing need for accessible financial technology (fintech) as digital banking, mobile payments, and cryptocurrencies become increasingly central to economic and social participation. The authors define fintech as digital technologies that…

  financial technology · fintech · digital payments · banking accessibility · cognitive accessibility

• 'Your Duties Are To Sweep A Floor Remotely': Low Information Quality in Job Advertisements is a Barrier to Low-Income Job-Seekers' Successful Use of Digital Platforms

  Sara Kingsley, Michael Six Silberman, Clara Wang, Robert Lambeth, Jiayin Zhi, Motahhare Eslami, Beibei Li, Jeffrey Bigham · 2024 · Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction for Work (CHIWORK)

  This paper investigates barriers that low-income job-seekers face when using digital platforms to find work, based on 27 semi-structured interviews with US residents earning under $45,000 who had searched for paid work in the previous two years. The participants — 30% of whom…

  digital inclusion · digital divide · employment · disability employment · low-income users

• Cognitive Accessibility of Digital Payments: A Literature Review

  Jiamin Dai, John Miedema, Sebastian Hernandez, Alexandra Sutton-Lalani, Karyn Moffatt · 2023 · Proceedings of the 20th International Web for All Conference (W4A '23)

  This literature review examines 30 scholarly publications (2012-2022) to characterize the cognitive accessibility challenges and design strategies for digital payments, focusing on the experiences of older adults and people with neurodiverse needs including dementia,…

  cognitive accessibility · financial technology · digital payments · banking accessibility · older adults

• Authoring accessible media content on social networks

  Letícia Seixas Pereira, José Coelho, André Rodrigues, João Guerreiro, Tiago Guerreiro, Carlos Duarte · 2022 · Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper investigates why user-generated visual content on social media remains overwhelmingly inaccessible to blind and visually impaired users, despite platforms offering tools to add alternative descriptions. The researchers conducted a two-phase study: an online…

  social media accessibility · alt text · user-generated content · image descriptions · digital inclusion

• A Computer Anxiety Model for Elderly Users Interacting with the Web

  Thiago Donizetti dos Santos, Vagner Figueredo de Santana · 2019 · Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents a model for automatically detecting Computer Anxiety (CA) levels in older adults through analysis of their interaction logs while browsing the web. Computer Anxiety — defined as negative emotions and cognition processes evoked during actual or imagined…

  computer anxiety · older adults · aging · interaction logging · machine learning

• Blind Web Development Training at Oysters and Pearls Technology Camp in Uganda

  Claire Ferrari, Amy Hurst, Scott Fitzgerald · 2019 · Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper describes the development and delivery of a 7-day web development course for 13 blind and low-vision students (ages 18-35, average 24) at the Oysters and Pearls Technology Camp in Gulu, northern Uganda. None of the students had prior experience building websites,…

  STEM accessibility · blindness · low vision · web development · coding education

• Web Development Training for Students That Are Blind

  Claire Ferrari · 2019 · Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper outlines a mixed-methods dissertation research plan for developing and evaluating a 10-day web development course specifically designed for students who are blind or have low vision. The author contextualizes the work within the employment…

  STEM accessibility · blindness · low vision · web development · coding education

• Making Legacy Digital Content Accessible at Source

  Sankalan Pal Chowdhary, Dipendra Manocha, M. Balakrishnan, Akashdeep Bansal, Himanshu Garg · 2019 · Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This demonstration paper presents a toolset for converting legacy-encoded Devanagari text to Unicode within Adobe InDesign, addressing a significant accessibility barrier for Indian language content. Despite Unicode being published in 1991, vast amounts of digitally created…

  Unicode · legacy encoding · accessible publishing · Devanagari · India

• AfricaSign -- A Crowd-sourcing Platform for the Documentation of STEM Vocabulary in African Sign Languages

  Abdelhadi Soudi, Kristof Van Laerhoven, Elmostafa Bou-Souf · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demonstration paper presents AfricaSign, a web-based crowdsourcing platform designed to enable African Deaf communities to document their endangered sign languages, with a focus on early-grade and STEM vocabulary. Most African sign languages are severely under-studied and…

  sign language · Africa · endangered languages · crowdsourcing · signing avatar

• Leveraging Participation: Supporting Skills Development of Young Adults with Intellectual Disability Using Social Media

  Andrew A. Bayor, Laurianne Sitbon, Bernd Ploderer, Filip Bircanin, Stewart Koplick, Margot Brereton · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper investigates how young adults with intellectual disability (ID) can leverage their existing social media participation — particularly on YouTube and Facebook — to develop new skills beyond entertainment. The researchers conducted a participatory study at an Australian…

  intellectual disability · social media · digital inclusion · participatory design · skills development

• Ageing is Not a Disease: Pitfalls for the Acceptance of Self-Management Health Systems Supporting Healthy Ageing

  Ine D’Haeseleer, Kathrin Gerling, Dominique Schreurs, Bart Vanrumste, Vero Vanden Abeele · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper reports on a qualitative study with 20 older adults (mean age 80, range 65-92) in Belgium, investigating their attitudes towards self-management health systems (SMHS) — integrated solutions that combine data from sensors and self-reports with risk assessment and…

  aging · older adults · health monitoring · self-management · digital inclusion

• Perception and Adoption of Mobile Accessibility Features by Older Adults Experiencing Ability Changes

  Rachel L. Franz, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Yi Cheng, Leah Findlater · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper presents the first empirical study exploring how older adults experiencing progressive ability changes perceive and adopt built-in mobile accessibility features on smartphones and tablets. The researchers conducted interviews with 14 older adults (aged 65-93, mean 77)…

  aging · older adults · mobile accessibility · ability-based design · accessibility features

• HowToApp: Supporting Life Skills Development of Young Adults with Intellectual Disability

  Andrew A. Bayor · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This student research abstract describes the co-design and preliminary evaluation of HowToApp, a mobile application that helps young adults with intellectual disability (ID) search for, watch, archive, and share YouTube videos related to their personal skills development…

  intellectual disability · co-design · social media · YouTube · skills development

• Computer Anxiety and Interaction: A Systematic Review

  Thiago Donizetti dos Santos, Vagner Figueredo de Santana · 2018 · Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2018)

  This paper presents a systematic review of 111 papers on Computer Anxiety (CA) in the context of Human-Computer Interaction, synthesising research spanning 1986-2017 across four databases (Springer, ACM, IEEExplore, PubMed). Computer Anxiety is defined as negative emotions and…

  computer anxiety · older adults · aging · digital inclusion · self-efficacy

• Internet of Things (IoT) as Assistive Technology: Potential Applications in Tertiary Education

  Scott Hollier, Shadi Abou-Zahra · 2018 · Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2018)

  This short paper explores how consumer Internet of Things (IoT) devices could serve as assistive technology for students with disabilities in tertiary education, based on qualitative interviews with five students representing hearing, mobility, print, low vision, and…

  Internet of Things · assistive technology · higher education · W3C · voice assistant

• Working Together: Technology as the Foundation for Better Employment Outcomes for People with Disability

  Alastair McEwin · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  Written by Australia's Disability Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission, this keynote paper draws on the findings of the 2016 "Willing to Work" national inquiry into employment discrimination against older Australians and Australians with…

  disability employment · disability rights · workplace accessibility · digital inclusion · disability discrimination

• A Pool of Representative Users for Accessibility Research: Seeing through the Eyes of the Users

  Marianne Dee, Vicki L. Hanson · 2016 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper documents the establishment, management, and lessons learned from the SiDE (Social Inclusion through the Digital Economy) User Pool, a large participant pool of over 800 older adults created at the University of Dundee to support accessibility and digital inclusion…

  research methods · participant recruitment · older adults · user pool · accessibility research

• Identifying Challenges and Opportunities in Computer-Based Vocational Training for Low-Income Communities of People with Intellectual Disabilities

  Vagner Figueredo de Santana, Rodrigo Laiola Guimarães, Andrea Britto Mattos · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents findings from a qualitative field study of computer-mediated vocational training for low-income students with intellectual disability (ID) at APAE DE SÃO PAULO, a Brazilian NGO that provides educational support, vocational training, and habilitation therapy.…

  intellectual disability · vocational training · digital inclusion · developing countries · educational technology

• 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 psychological barriers such as…

  health literacy · healthcare accessibility · plain language · personalization · aging