Abstract
While Universal Design principles have been adopted in many areas to ensure that products and services are usable for the broadest possible diversity of users, there is still an open area when it comes to the emergency management domain. This article aims at providing a systematic overview of the current state of the emerging research field of Universal Design of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Emergency Management, and to highlight high-impact research opportunities to ensure that the increasing introduction of ICT in Emergency Management can contribute to removing barriers instead of adding more barriers, in particular for the elderly and people with disabilities. A systematic review on relevant literature on Universal Design, ICT and Emergency Management between 2008 and 2020 was employed using predefined frameworks, to answer the following questions: (1) Who are the target audiences (stakeholders) in research on Universal Design of ICT in Emergency Management in the different categories of Emergency Management ICT tools, and to what degree is Human-Centred Design and Universal Design taken into account? (2) What are the most important challenges and gaps in research on Universal Design of ICT in Emergency Management? We identify a set of gaps in the literature, indicating that there are some challenges where Universal Design is still limitedly addressed in technology development. We also derive promising future research topics based on areas that are missing in the literature.
Highlights
Universal Design (UD) concerns the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design
Research shows that Universal Design of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in an Emergency Management context may be important for people with disabilities among the general public, but a wide range of stakeholders that may be affected by so-called situational disabilities, i.e. social and environmental barriers that can occur in the situation that cause auditory, cognitive, physical speech and visual impairment (Gjøsæter et al 2019, 2020)
Based on the research questions, we have identified three topic groups to cover in the literature search: & Universal Design, covering Universal Design, design for all, and accessibility & Emergency Management covering crisis management, Emergency Management, disaster management, disaster resilience & ICT covering Web, technology, digital, mobile, smartphone, computer, internet
Summary
Universal Design (UD) concerns the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. According to WAI/W3C, for the web, accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with websites and tools, and that they can Universal Design in Emergency Management has until now primarily been a research field where the focus has been on the physical environment, buildings and escape routes. Universal Design of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Emergency Management and crisis communication can greatly impact the ability to save people’s life in a disaster situation. Research shows that Universal Design of ICT in an Emergency Management context may be important for people with disabilities among the general public, but a wide range of stakeholders that may be affected by so-called situational disabilities, i.e. social and environmental barriers that can occur in the situation that cause auditory, cognitive, physical speech and visual impairment (Gjøsæter et al 2019, 2020).
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