Accessibility and User Experience in Healthcare
Imagine you’re in a place where you’re not OK, either short term or long term, acute or chronic, curable or incurable. The struggles of daily life become very real. Simple things become mountains to climb.
We’ve all been ill, and we all know how it feels. It’s not nice, and you’re usually not in the most cognitive and motivated of states. This, for us, is where the intersection of accessibility and user experience design intersect.
In the fast-paced digital health sector, the importance of incorporating accessibility in user experience becomes critical. Effective digital health solutions must be accessible to all users, including those with various disabilities. This is crucial not only for compliance with legal standards, such as the 'AA' standard of the WCAG 2.1 guidelines, but also for ensuring that health technologies serve the community effectively.
Juggling the complexity of user experience and accessibility in health tech innovation is especially pivotal. As demonstrated by the NHS, making services accessible to a broad audience enhances patient care and operational efficiency in healthcare settings. This approach is vital for health tech startups and scaleups, which must balance innovation with a deep understanding of end-users' needs.
The ethos of "Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug - a guiding principle in web usability - parallels the need for intuitive design in healthcare technology. This philosophy underlines the importance of creating digital solutions that are straightforward and require minimal effort from users, particularly those in distressing health situations. It advocates for user interfaces that are clear and easy to navigate, reducing the cognitive load on users and making essential information and functionalities readily accessible.
This strategy ensures that digital health services are perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust—meeting the needs of users with different abilities. It emphasises removing barriers that can impede the ability to obtain and use information quickly and efficiently, mirroring the core principles of progressive enhancement.
In the UK, the legal and practical expectations for digital health innovations are high. The NHS sets benchmarks that are critical for guiding startups and scaleups. These entities must integrate user-centred design early in the development process, tailoring their products to meet specific user requirements effectively.
As the digital health landscape continues to evolve, the focus on accessibility and user experience will increasingly influence the success of technological innovations. Prioritising these aspects from the outset is essential for developing solutions that are not only innovative but also widely usable—ensuring that advancements in healthcare technology benefit everyone. This commitment to combining accessibility with intuitive design helps ensure that all users, regardless of their condition or disabilities, can manage their health with confidence and ease.
