Accessible information for persons with deafblindness during the corona pandemic

For individuals with deafblindness communication and interaction with the surrounding environment is challenging due to a combined impaired hearing and vision. The received information becomes fragmented and it is tiring to fill in missing parts. Due to a lack of knowledge of deafblindness, public information is not accessible for people with deafblindness.

This has become even more evident during the Corona pandemic. In Sweden, the responsibility to provide accessible information is shared by different authorities and agencies.

In the society, the ability to access information is highly dependent on hearing and vision and in times of crisis, e.g. during the Corona pandemic, the information can change with short notice. In addition, recommendations to citizens needs to be secured in terms of accuracy.

In the project we will use a mixed-method design to answer the following objectives:Describe how information about the Corona pandemic and Covid-19 from the authorities in society was accessed by persons with deafblindnessExplore the content of information about Covid-19 and how the persons with deafblindness accessed the recommendationsExplore the knowledge about deafblindness and access to information at agency’s that had responsibility for giving information about Covid-19 and the Corona pandemic The overall aim of the project is to develop guidelines for making information from responsible agencies in society, accessible for persons with deafblindness in times of crises.