Abstract:

There are over thirty million people in the U.S. with disabilities or functional limitations (of which a major cause is ageing), and this number is increasing. An examination of the role of human factors in addressing this population is presented which would include both special designs for disability/aging and the incorporation of disability/ageing into mainstream human factors research and education. Statistics regarding the size and characteristics of this population are presented, including the costs of disability. Examples demonstrating the economic and commercial feasibility of incorporating disability/ageing considerations in mass market designs are provided along with a discussion of the benefits to non-disabled users. Incorporating disability considerations in our research and teaching will require substantial effort both as individuals and as a field. Before we can effectively incorporate disability and aging issues into our curriculum we will need to better define and refine this area. The basic principles involved in accessible design need to be explored and defined. More specific data regarding the different areas of impairment as they relate to design need to be gathered, condensed and made available to researchers and designers. Some design guidelines exist (Lifchez & Winslow, 1979; Sorenson, 1979; Newell, 1987; Newell & Cairns, 1987; Calkins, 1988; Vanderheiden, 1988; Enders & Hall, 1990; Mueller, 1990) but much more work is needed in the delination and documentation of the basic principles of accessible design. It seems apparent, however, from the demographics and trends in our population, that for an increasing number of the professionals and educational programs in human factors, design for disability and aging must merge with, and become a continuum of, the normal design process. Aside from the significant benefits to society, these efforts should also make our field more robust and lead it into new directions and to new insights.