Bridging the Therapeutic Divide: Age and Disability Discrimination in Tech-Based Health Settings
📌 Chorong Park – Ph.D. Candidate, Purdue University
📌 Published by The Petrie-Flom Center, Harvard Law School
📌 Date: September 29, 2023
📌 Full Article: Read Here
This paper was invited for submission by the editors and was originally pitched to The Petrie-Flom Center Blog, Bill of Health, hosted by Harvard Law School.This paper was invited for submission by the editors.
The increasing reliance on technology in healthcare has led to systemic discrimination against older adults and people with disabilities. Technoableism, or the exclusion of these populations from technological design and infrastructure, creates barriers to healthcare access and quality of life.
✅ Key Finding: Medical technology, including digital health systems and self-service kiosks, is not designed for aging and disabled users. This leads to widening gaps in healthcare access and digital exclusion.
✅ Industry Application: Healthcare providers and tech developers must integrate accessible, human-centered design principles to create inclusive healthcare environments.
🔹 Intersection of Ageism & Ableism in Digital Health
🔹 Qualitative Observations on Digital Health Barriers
Older adults and disabled users face six primary challenges when navigating digital health services:
1️⃣ Lack of Inclusive Design in Medical Kiosks → Hospitals deploy self-service kiosks for registration, billing, and prescriptions without accessibility considerations, forcing older patients to rely on caregivers.
2️⃣ Negative Social Perceptions of Aging & Disability → The term "the totem that chases away older adults and disabled people" (used in South Korea) reflects how medical technologies exclude vulnerable populations rather than serving them.
3️⃣ Unintuitive User Interfaces → Small text, touch-based navigation, and complex menu structures make kiosks and telehealth apps difficult for older users with visual, cognitive, or motor impairments.
4️⃣ Assumption That Aging = Decline & Incompetence → Older adults are expected to accept technological challenges rather than demand accessible solutions.
5️⃣ Disproportionate Focus on Caregivers Rather Than Patients → Medical technology is often built to assist caregivers rather than empower patients, further marginalizing older adults and disabled users.
6️⃣ Bias in Digital Health Policy & Innovation → The belief that older adults are inherently less important than younger patients leads to less investment in accessible tech solutions.
🔹 Proposed UX & Accessibility Fixes:
✅ Human-Centered Healthcare UX Design → Involve older adults & disabled individuals in the design and testing phases of digital health platforms.
✅ Accessible Self-Service Kiosks & Patient Portals → Adjustable text size, voice navigation, and simplified UI improve hospital registration & billing systems.
✅ Policy-Driven Accessibility Mandates → Governments and healthcare regulators should enforce WCAG and ADA-compliant medical technology.
✅ Age-Inclusive Telehealth & Digital Health Platforms → Design voice-assisted AI, large-button interfaces, and step-by-step guidance systems for telemedicine adoption.
✅ Elderly-Focused Digital Literacy Training → Provide onboarding programs for aging users in hospitals and clinics to boost confidence and engagement.
🔹 Business Value: Why This Matters for Healthcare & Tech Companies
🚀 Market Expansion: The global aging population is projected to reach 2.1 billion by 2050 → designing for aging users ensures long-term customer engagement.
🚀 Regulatory Compliance & Risk Reduction: Governments are tightening digital accessibility requirements → early adoption prevents legal & reputational risks.
🚀 Better Healthcare Outcomes: Inclusive tech reduces barriers to care, leading to improved patient satisfaction & clinical efficiency.
🚀 Competitive Differentiation: Companies that invest in aging-friendly health tech will lead the future of inclusive healthcare innovation.
💡 Health Tech Developers: Prioritize accessibility-first UX in electronic medical records (EMR), patient portals, and hospital kiosks.
💡 UX & Product Teams: Conduct user testing with older adults & disabled individuals to ensure real-world usability.
💡 Healthcare Providers: Integrate human-assisted alternatives for self-service kiosks and online patient management systems.
💡 Regulators & Policymakers: Advocate for mandatory accessibility standards in digital healthcare infrastructure.
📌 Older adults and disabled individuals remain an afterthought in health tech design.
📌 Healthcare systems must eliminate technoableism to ensure digital equity.
📌 Inclusive medical technology improves patient autonomy, satisfaction, and overall health outcomes.
📌 The future of healthcare must embrace accessibility-first digital transformation.
🚀 Next Steps: Want to future-proof your healthcare technology for an aging population? Let’s collaborate!
