By Sarah Horton and David Sloan — Some people have chronic illnesses, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, and endometriosis, which limit the amount of physical and mental energy they may have in a given day. The impact of chronic illness may vary within and between days and is likely to be unpredictable, meaning that someone may be unsure as to their energy capability on any given day. In addition to conditions that affect sensory perception, motor skills, and cognition, people with chronic illnesses may experience higher levels of pain and fatigue, which can limit their ability to interact with digital products for a prolonged time.
People with chronic illnesses may be particularly adversely affected by the challenge of complex and inefficient interfaces combined with the cumulative impact of multiple accessibility barriers experienced during interaction. Despite the growing incidence of chronic illness, and the fact that people with chronic illnesses are covered by disability rights legislation in many countries, it’s often overlooked or given less attention in comparison to other disabilities.
Mental health conditions such as post‑traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety can often be considered chronic. Often triggered by specific stimuli or environments, these conditions can create a range of user accessibility needs, in particular at times where stress is heightened.
User accessibility needs for people with chronic illnesses focus on minimizing complexity, redundancy, and inefficiency in the design and behavior of digital products and providing ways to reduce the effort required to navigate, perform tasks, and recover from errors.
From Horton, S., & Sloan, D. (2024). What Every Engineer Should Know About Digital Accessibility. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
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