Email Usability for Blind Users

Abstract

It is estimated that there are nearly 45 million worldwide who are blind with no residual vision (WHO, 2009). When one considers the unemployment statistics of between 70 to 75% for working-age blind individuals in the United States (NFB, 2007) and 75% for blind and visually impaired individuals in the United Kingdom (RNIB, 2008), the usability of email becomes a major concern due to its intersection with many vocational responsibilities. As studies have shown that email frustrations waste the time of all users (Williams and Williams, 2006), the difficulties relating to usability issues combined with the required use of email in the workplace may be creating a workplace barrier for blind users. Blind users face many challenges and obstacles when using computers at home and in the workplace, including difficulties in accessing websites and using corporate software. Email usability challenges for blind users have not been studied in detail, so gaining a better understanding of any problems that exist can lead to improvements in email software interfaces. To help understand the challenges faced, a web-based survey on email usage by blind users was developed in late 2008 and administered by the researchers in early 2009.