Context, Uncertainty, and Interdependence: Crisis Informatics and Severe Weather Risk Communication for People with Visual Impairments

Paper Title

Context, Uncertainty, and Interdependence: Crisis Informatics and Severe Weather Risk Communication for People with Visual Impairments

Publication Info

• Topic area: Severe weather risk communication for people with visual impairments (PwVI) through the lens of crisis informatics and critical disability studies.
• Keywords: Crisis informatics, severe weather, visual impairments, risk communication, accessibility, disability justice, interdependence, uncertainty, HCI, assistive technologies.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Severe weather risk communication often fails to account for the unique needs of people with visual impairments (PwVI), leaving them vulnerable during emergencies. Existing systems are inaccessible, overly generalized, and neglect the embodied experiences of PwVI.
• Significance: Improving risk communication for PwVI can enhance their safety, autonomy, and ability to make informed decisions during severe weather events, addressing a critical gap in accessibility and disaster preparedness.
• Motivation and related work: While crisis informatics and HCI have explored risk communication, little research has focused on PwVI. Prior studies have highlighted the disproportionate impact of severe weather on people with disabilities but have largely ignored sensory disabilities. This paper builds on critical disability studies to address these gaps.

Solution

• Proposed approach: A qualitative study exploring the lived experiences of PwVI during severe weather to inform the design of inclusive risk communication systems.
• Novelty:
  1. Emphasizes the role of social and infrastructural contexts in shaping PwVI’s experiences of severe weather.
  2. Advocates for interdependent networks of information sharing and support as a design principle.
  3. Reframes uncertainty in risk communication to include social and infrastructural factors beyond weather forecasts.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 PwVI in the Greater Toronto Area.
  • Used reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) to identify themes related to navigation, technology use, and social support during severe weather.
  • Integrated insights from critical disability studies and disaster research to propose design strategies.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Severe weather disrupts sensory pathways critical for navigation (e.g., sound, tactile feedback) and complicates the use of assistive technologies.
  • Socioeconomic factors influence access to resources like paid assistance services and mobile data, exacerbating inequities.
  • Participants rely on interdependent networks for information and support, highlighting the value of collective resilience.
  • Participants desire independence but emphasize the importance of choosing when to seek assistance.
• Advantage over baselines:
  • Highlights the inadequacy of traditional "broadcast models" of risk communication and proposes context-sensitive, community-driven approaches.
  • Expands the scope of uncertainty in risk communication to include social and infrastructural challenges.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Interviews with 17 PwVI (9 blind, 5 low vision, 3 with progressive vision loss) aged 20s–72.
  • Analysis of their experiences with navigation, technology, and social networks during severe weather.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Focused on visual impairments; other disabilities remain underexplored.
  • Participants were part of an interdependent community, which may not reflect the experiences of more isolated PwVI.
  • Future work should examine other disabilities, broader geographic contexts, and the role of interdependence in less connected communities.

Summary

This study investigates the challenges PwVI face during severe weather, emphasizing the role of sensory disruptions, socioeconomic inequities, and social networks in shaping their experiences. It advocates for risk communication strategies that account for the contextual production of "fit" between bodies and environments, promote interdependence, and address diverse forms of uncertainty. By integrating insights from critical disability studies, the paper lays a foundation for designing inclusive, community-oriented risk communication systems that enhance safety and resilience for PwVI.