Speaker: Rachel Adler

Title: Co-Designing a Mobile Health App for People with Disabilities

Abstract: The transition from in-patient rehabilitation to community living poses significant challenges for individuals with newly acquired disabilities. To support this transition, peer navigators are trained to help break down barriers to independent living. However, accessing in-person services can be difficult for many individuals with disabilities. Implementing remote peer navigator programs has emerged as an effective strategy for improving access to essential support services. In response, we developed a mobile health (mHealth) app using a co-design approach with four peer navigators with disabilities, aimed at empowering people with disabilities as they transition back to community living after rehabilitation. Over the course of three co-design sessions, we developed personas and iteratively refined both low- and high-fidelity prototypes. We also conducted heuristic evaluation of the prototype to identify usability flaws. Based on qualitative and quantitative data from the evaluation, we identified usability issues and made iterative improvements to enhance the prototype’s interactivity and usability.

Bio: Rachel Adler is an Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests are in human-computer interaction, accessibility, and computing education. She is particularly interested in designing applications for and with people with disabilities. Some of her recent projects include co-designing a mobile health app to empower cancer survivors with disabilities, co-designing a mobile health peer navigator intervention for people with disabilities, and creating accessibility games to teach students about accessible design.