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A scoping review of public building accessibility

Carlsson, G. LU ; Slaug, B. LU orcid ; Schmidt, S. M. LU orcid ; Norin, L. LU ; Ronchi, E. LU orcid and Gefenaite, G. LU orcid (2022) In Disability and Health Journal 15(2).
Abstract

Background: The built environment needs to be designed so that all people can participate in the activities they want and need to do. Yet, accessibility is difficult to put into practice, and accessibility issues tend to be overlooked in the building and planning processes. Objectives: The aim of this scoping review was to summarize the research front in the area of accessibility to public buildings. Specific aims were to identify knowledge gaps, to identify access activities in relation to environmental features and to link to predominant activities in terms of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Methods: A literature search was performed in PubMed, PsycINFO, Inspec, Embase and Cochrane... (More)

Background: The built environment needs to be designed so that all people can participate in the activities they want and need to do. Yet, accessibility is difficult to put into practice, and accessibility issues tend to be overlooked in the building and planning processes. Objectives: The aim of this scoping review was to summarize the research front in the area of accessibility to public buildings. Specific aims were to identify knowledge gaps, to identify access activities in relation to environmental features and to link to predominant activities in terms of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Methods: A literature search was performed in PubMed, PsycINFO, Inspec, Embase and Cochrane databases. Articles in English based on original empirical studies investigating accessibility of public buildings for adults aged ≥18 years with functional limitations were considered. Results: Of the 40 articles included, ten involved study participants, while 30 only examined buildings using instruments to assess accessibility. In addition, the psychometric properties were only tested for a few of them. All articles concerned mobility and several visual limitations, while few addressed cognitive or hearing limitations. Ten main access activities were identified, from using parking/drop-off area to exiting building. Conclusions: By using the ICF and theoretically relating the accessibility problems to activities, the results revealed that there are large knowledge gaps about accessibility to public buildings for older people and people with functional limitations and that there is a need for more methodological considerations in this area of research.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Environment design, ICF, Impairment, Participation, Person-environment fit
in
Disability and Health Journal
volume
15
issue
2
article number
101227
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:34716114
  • scopus:85118358157
ISSN
1936-6574
DOI
10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101227
project
Building egressibility in an aging society
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8e9b3ab0-ff5a-4165-8dbd-849663bc644e
date added to LUP
2021-11-29 14:37:27
date last changed
2024-06-17 00:25:30
@article{8e9b3ab0-ff5a-4165-8dbd-849663bc644e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: The built environment needs to be designed so that all people can participate in the activities they want and need to do. Yet, accessibility is difficult to put into practice, and accessibility issues tend to be overlooked in the building and planning processes. Objectives: The aim of this scoping review was to summarize the research front in the area of accessibility to public buildings. Specific aims were to identify knowledge gaps, to identify access activities in relation to environmental features and to link to predominant activities in terms of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Methods: A literature search was performed in PubMed, PsycINFO, Inspec, Embase and Cochrane databases. Articles in English based on original empirical studies investigating accessibility of public buildings for adults aged ≥18 years with functional limitations were considered. Results: Of the 40 articles included, ten involved study participants, while 30 only examined buildings using instruments to assess accessibility. In addition, the psychometric properties were only tested for a few of them. All articles concerned mobility and several visual limitations, while few addressed cognitive or hearing limitations. Ten main access activities were identified, from using parking/drop-off area to exiting building. Conclusions: By using the ICF and theoretically relating the accessibility problems to activities, the results revealed that there are large knowledge gaps about accessibility to public buildings for older people and people with functional limitations and that there is a need for more methodological considerations in this area of research.</p>}},
  author       = {{Carlsson, G. and Slaug, B. and Schmidt, S. M. and Norin, L. and Ronchi, E. and Gefenaite, G.}},
  issn         = {{1936-6574}},
  keywords     = {{Environment design; ICF; Impairment; Participation; Person-environment fit}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Disability and Health Journal}},
  title        = {{A scoping review of public building accessibility}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101227}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101227}},
  volume       = {{15}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}