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Telehealth and Digital Health Innovations

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Telehealth and digital health innovations: A mixed landscape of access Phuong J, Ordóñez P, Cao J, Moukheiber M, Moukheiber L, et al. (2023) Telehealth and digital health innovations: A mixed landscape of access. PLOS Digital Health 2(12): e0000401. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000401

In the wake of emergent natural and anthropogenic disasters, telehealth presents opportunities to improve access to healthcare when physical access is not possible. Yet, since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, lessons learned reveal that various populations in the United States do not or cannot adopt telehealth due to inequitable access. We explored the Digital Determinants of Health (DDoHs) for telehealth, characterizing the role of accessibility, broadband connectivity and electrical grids, and patient intersectionality. In addition to its role as an existing Social Determinant of Health, Policies and Laws directly and indirectly affect these DDoHs, making access more complex for marginalized populations. Digital systems lack the flexibility, accessibility, and usability to inclusively provide the essential services patients need in telehealth. We propose the following recommendations: (1) design technology and systems using accessibility and value sensitive design principles; (2) support a range of technologies and settings; (3) support multiple and diverse users; and (4) support clear paths for repair when technical systems fail to meet users’ needs. Addressing these requires change not only from providers but also from the institutions providing these systems.

What Counts as ‘Creative’ Work?

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Stacy Hsueh, Marianela Ciolf Felice, Sarah Fdili Alaoui, and Wendy E. Mackay. 2024. What Counts as‘Creative’ Work? Articulating Four Epistemic Positions in Creativity-Oriented HCI Research. In Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’24), May 11– 16, 2024, Honolulu, HI, USA. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 15 pages. https: //doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642854

This paper examines prevailing understandings of creativity in creative computing research through the lens of feminist epistemology. We analyze “creativity support” as a construct that encodes diferent defnitions of creative work. Drawing on existing literature and practices, the paper surfaces four views about creative work that underpin current creative technologies and HCI research: problemsolving, cognitive emergence, embodied action, and tool-mediated expert activity. Each view makes diferent claims about the role of computing in creative work and the creative subject assumed. We articulate the attendant politics of each view and illustrate how critical feminist epistemology can serve as an analytical tool to reason about the trade-ofs of various creativity defnitions. The paper concludes with recommendations for integrating feminist values into creativity-oriented HCI research.

“A Tool for Freedom”

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Jerry Cao, Krish Jain, Julie Zhang, Yuecheng Peng, Shwetak Patel, and Jennifer Mankof. 2025. “A Tool for Freedom”: Co-Designing Mobility Aid Improvements Using Personal Fabrication and Physical Interface Modules with Primarily Young Adults. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’25), April 26–May 01, 2025, Yokohama, Japan. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 16 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713366

Mobility aids (e.g., canes, crutches, and wheelchairs) are crucial for people with mobility disabilities; however, pervasive dissatisfaction with these aids keeps usage rates low. Through semi-structured interviews with 17 mobility aid users, mostly under the age of 30, we identified specific sources of dissatisfaction among younger users of mobility aids, uncovered community-based solutions for these dissatisfactions, and explored ways these younger users wanted to improve mobility aids. We found that users sought customizable, reconfigurable, multifunctional, and more aesthetically pleasing mobility aids. Participants’ feedback guided our prototyping of tools/accessories, such as laser cut decorative sleeves, hot-swappable physical interface modules, and modular canes with custom 3D-printed handles. These prototypes were then the focus of additional co-design sessions where six returning participants offered suggestions for improvements and provided feedback on their usefulness and usability. Our findings highlight that many mobility aid users have the desire, ability, and need to customize and improve their aids in different ways compared to older adults. We propose various solutions and design guidelines to facilitate the modifications of mobility aids.

Autoethnographic Insights from Neurodivergent GAI “Power Users”

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Kate Glazko, JunHyeok Cha, Aaleyah Lewis, Ben Kosa, Brianna Wimer, Andrew Zheng, Yiwei Zheng, and Jennifer Mankoff. 2025. Autoethnographic Insights from Neurodivergent GAI “Power Users”. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’25), April 26-May 1, 2025, Yokohama, Japan. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 20 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/ 3706598.3713670

Generative AI has become ubiquitous in both daily and professional life, with emerging research demonstrating its potential as a tool for accessibility. Neurodivergent people, often left out by existing accessibility technologies, develop their own ways of navigating normative expectations. GAI offers new opportunities for access, but it is important to understand how neurodivergent “power users”—successful early adopters—engage with it and the challenges they face. Further, we must understand how marginalization and intersectional identities influence their interactions with GAI. Our autoethnography, enhanced by privacy-preserving GAI-based diaries and interviews, reveals the intricacies of using GAI to navigate normative environments and expectations. Our findings demonstrate how GAI can both support and complicate tasks like code-switching, emotional regulation, and accessing information. We show that GAI can help neurodivergent users to reclaim their agency in systems that diminish their autonomy and self-determination. However, challenges such as balancing authentic self-expression with societal conformity, alongside other risks, create barriers to realizing GAI’s full potential for accessibility.

Toward Language Justice

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Aashaka Desai, Rahaf Alharbi, Stacy Hsueh, Richard E. Ladner, and Jennifer Mankoff. 2025. Toward Language Justice: Exploring Multilingual Captioning for Accessibility. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’25), April 26–May 01, 2025, Yokohama, Japan. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 18 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713622

A growing body of research investigates how to make captioning experiences more accessible and enjoyable to disabled people. However, prior work has focused largely on English captioning, neglecting the majority of people who are multilingual (i.e., understand or express themselves in more than one language). To address this gap, we conducted semi-structured interviews and diary logs with 13 participants who used multilingual captions for accessibility. Our findings highlight the linguistic and cultural dimensions of captioning, detailing how language features (scripts and orthography) and the inclusion/negation of cultural context shape the accessibility of captions. Despite lack of quality and availability, participants emphasized the importance of multilingual captioning to learn a new language, build community, and preserve cultural heritage. Moving toward a future where all ways of communicating are celebrated, we present ways to orient captioning research to a language justice agenda that decenters English and engages with varied levels of fluency.

Cripping Data Visualizations

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Stacy Hsueh, Beatrice Vincenzi, Akshata Murdeshwar, and Marianela Ciolf Felice. 2023. Cripping Data Visualizations: Crip Technoscience as a Critical Lensfor Designing Digital Access. In The 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS ’23), October 22–25, 2023, New York, NY, USA. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 16 pages. https://doi.org/10. 1145/3597638.3608427

Data visualizations have become the primary mechanism for engaging with quantitative information. However, many of these visualizations are inaccessible to blind and low vision people. This paper investigates the challenge of designing accessible data visualizations through the lens of crip technoscience. We present four speculative design case studies that conceptually explore four qualities of access built on crip wisdom: access as an ongoing process, a frictional practice, an aesthetic experience, and transformation. Each speculative study embodies inquiry and futuring, making visible common assumptions about access and exploring how an alternative crip-informed framework can shape designs that foreground the creativity of disabled people. We end by presenting tactics for designing digital access that de-centers the innovation discourse.

Shaping Lace

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Glazko, K., Portnova-Fahreeva, A., Mankoff-Dey, A., Psarra, A., & Mankoff, J. (2024, July). Shaping Lace: Machine embroidered metamaterials. In Proceedings of the 9th ACM Symposium on Computational Fabrication (pp. 1-12).

The ability to easily create embroidered lace textile objects that can be manipulated in structured ways, i.e., metamaterials, could enable a variety of applications from interactive tactile graphics to physical therapy devices. However, while machine embroidery has been used to create sensors and digitally enhanced fabrics, its use for creating metamaterials is an understudied area. This article reviews recent advances in metamaterial textiles and conducts a design space exploration of metamaterial freestanding lace embroidery. We demonstrate that freestanding lace embroidery can be used to create out-of-plane kirigami and auxetic effects. We provide examples of applications of these effects to create a variety of prototypes and demonstrations.

Towards AI-driven Sign Language Generation with Non-manual Markers

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Han Zhang, Rotem Shalev-Arkushin, Vasileios Baltatzis, Connor Gillis, Gierad Laput, Raja Kushalnagar, Lorna Quandt, Leah Findlater, Abdelkareem Bedri, and Colin Lea. 2025. Towards AI-driven Sign Language Generation with Non-manual Markers. In Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

Sign languages are essential for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) community. Sign language generation systems have the potential to support communication by translating from written languages, such as English, into signed videos. However, current systems often fail to meet user needs due to poor translation of grammatical structures, the absence of facial cues and body language, and insufficient visual and motion fidelity. We address these challenges by building on recent advances in LLMs and video generation models to translate English sentences into natural-looking AI ASL signers. The text component of our model extracts information for manual and non-manual components of ASL, which are used to synthesize skeletal pose sequences and corresponding video frames. Our findings from a user study with 30 DHH participants and thorough technical evaluations demonstrate significant progress and identify critical areas necessary to meet user needs.

Notably Inaccessible

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Venkatesh Potluri, Sudheesh Singanamalla, Nussara Tieanklin, Jennifer Mankoff: Notably Inaccessible – Data Driven Understanding of Data Science Notebook (In)Accessibility. ASSETS 2023: 13:1-13:19

Computational notebooks are tools that help people explore, analyze data, and create stories about that data. They are the most popular choice for data scientists. People use software like Jupyter, Datalore, and Google Colab to work with these notebooks in universities and companies.

There is a lot of research on how data scientists use these notebooks and how to help them work together better. But there is not much information about the problems faced by blind and visually impaired (BVI) users. BVI users have difficulty using these notebooks because:

  • The interfaces are not accessible.
  • The way data is shown is not user-friendly for them.
  • Popular libraries do not provide outputs they can use.

We analyzed 100,000 Jupyter notebooks to find accessibility problems. We looked for issues that affect how these notebooks are created and read. From our study, we give advice on how to make notebooks more accessible. We suggest ways for people to write better notebooks and changes to make the notebook software work better for everyone.

Touchpad Mapper

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Ather Sharif, Venkatesh Potluri, Jazz Rui Xia Ang, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Jennifer Mankoff: Touchpad Mapper: Examining Information Consumption From 2D Digital Content Using Touchpads by Screen-Reader Users: ASSETS ’24 (best poster!) and W4A ’24 (open access)

Touchpads are common, but they are not very useful for people who use screen readers. We created and tested a tool called Touchpad Mapper to let Blind and visually impaired people make better use of touchpads. Touchpad Mapper lets screen-reader users use touchpads to interact with digital content like images and videos.

Touchpad mapping could be used in many apps. We built two examples:

  1. Users can use the touchpad to identify where things are in an image.
  2. Users can control a video’s progress with the touchpad, including rewinding and fast-forwarding.

We tested Touchpad Mapper with three people who use screen readers. They said they got information more quickly with our tool than with a regular keyboard.