31 July 2023
12:00 - 13:00 PM
In Person and Virtual
TRI-UC - 2nd floor Auditorium, 550 University Avenue
Abstract
Wayfinding is the process of navigating from one’s present location to their desired location. For people with disabilities, the increasingly more common use of wayfinding technologies offers important solutions to supporting safe and accessible navigation through environments. However, our understanding of the usability of the various available technologies is limited. The standardization of these technologies is also largely absent in Canadian accessibility policies, which may translate to continued barriers for people with disabilities to safely navigate public spaces.
Funded by Accessibility Standards Canada, Dr. Novak is leading an interdisciplinary team focused on understanding the use of wayfinding technology for people with disabilities. Together with stakeholder engagement, this project aims to develop a core set of recommendations for the inclusion of wayfinding technology within Canadian Accessibility Standards. This talk will focus on presenting the results of a national survey including people with disabilities, providing insight into barriers and facilitators to the use of various technology available for wayfinding. We will present our initial recommendations for standardization of the technology in policy, and what future work is still needed.
Biography
Dr. Alison Novak is a Scientist at KITE, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto. She received her BSc degree in Kinesiology from University of Waterloo, MSc and PhD in Rehabilitation Science from Queen’s University. Alison’s primary research area focuses on understanding mobility in challenging environments and the impact of aging, disability, and environmental factors to reduce the risk of falls and support aging-in-place strategies.
Alison is actively involved with current changes to the National Building Code of Canada and Canadian accessibility standards to build age-friendly, accessible, and safe environments. For more information about Dr. Novak’s ongoing research, please visit: www.enablresearch.com