Objective

Digital mental health apps (for mood tracking, meditation, journaling, and self-care) are increasingly common, but many rely on visual interfaces, charts, and interactions that are inaccessible to blind and low-vision users. As one participant put it, "sighted people have their pick of the litter." The goal was to define the problem space and research questions so that design and product teams could build more inclusive DMH tracking services.

Research questions

1. What do BLV individuals need from digital mental health tracking services?
2. What barriers do they face with existing DMH tools, and how can research and design better include them?

Work

I conducted research with and for the blind community using interviews and need-finding to capture lived experiences, barriers, and desired features in digital mental health tools. Analysis centered on community perspectives to produce actionable recommendations for more inclusive design and future development of accessible DMH tracking services.

Methods: User interviews and surveys with BLV participants; need-finding and problem definition; synthesis into personas/segments and evidence-based recommendations for product and design. Collaboration with academic advisor and community stakeholders throughout.

End result

Insights & recommendations

Key findings and recommendations were synthesized and communicated in a CHI EA '25 paper and supporting materials, informing how product and design teams can prioritize accessibility and inclusivity in DMH tracking features (e.g., screen reader support, non-visual feedback, reduced reliance on charts).

Impact

The work surfaces unmet needs in an underserved domain and provides evidence-based direction for building DMH tools that support mental health access for BLV users. It demonstrates how need-finding with affected communities can directly shape product and design priorities.

Reflection

Leading this project underscored how much product teams assume a sighted user by default. If I were to do it again, I would run a short diary study alongside interviews to capture in-the-moment barriers and pair the work with a lightweight design sprint to turn top recommendations into concrete design concepts for stakeholders.

Research skills demonstrated

• User interviews and surveys with underserved populations
• Need-finding and problem definition
• Synthesis into personas and evidence-based recommendations
• Translating research into actionable product and design insights
• Stakeholder collaboration throughout

Publication

• CHI EA '25: Unpacking the need for DMH tracking services with and for the blind community [DOI]
• arXiv preprint

Methods

User interviews and surveys, need-finding, persona and segment understanding, actionable insights for product and design, stakeholder collaboration.