Co-designing accessibility: why everything is better when we all work together (Manchester)

Digital technology can transform how patients engage with services and 2020 has inevitably seen a huge increase in the provision of online health services.  Some of these changes have improved accessibility and inclusivity for many users. For example, technology has reduced the need for people to travel to hospitals or provided online access to conferences and meetings. At the same time, the pace of change in 2020 has meant that not all interventions are as inclusive or accessible as they could have been.

For many organisations, accessibility is viewed as an obligation: a need to demonstrate compliance with EU and UK laws on accessibility, and a cost to the business. In this seminar, we will discuss what happens when accessibility is viewed not as an obligation, but as a way to engage with, and support as many people as possible. Our panelists will share their experiences in inclusive co-design and discuss the methods and benefits of this approach for organisations and for the users of their services and products.

As a volunteer-led grassroots community that supports and promotes under-represented groups, OHT wants to motivate reflections on what we can do to support inclusive healthtech design. We want to raise awareness about the importance of working together for better technology and how we all can make the most of a health innovation. Technology must consider the user's real needs.

Speakers

●  Sumaira Naseem – Postgraduate researcher looking at lived experiences of disability, visual difference and multisensorial ways of knowing

● Hillary Stephenson - Managing Director, Sigma, human centred design consultancy

● Molly Watt - Usability and Accessibility Consultant