Eight out of ten people with disabilities experience difficulties using unmanned information terminals (kiosks). This is due to the lack of convenience features in the kiosks. As a result, people with disabilities prefer ordering through store staff.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the results of the '2024 Survey on the Implementation of the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities' on the 8th.
This survey is the second since 2021. It was conducted from October of last year to January of this year, targeting 4,114 institutions such as public agencies and medical institutions, as well as 540 people with disabilities. Ahead of the full implementation of the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities in January next year, it examined the discrimination status regarding the information accessibility of people with disabilities, focusing on unmanned information terminals.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's survey results, 80.1% (161 individuals) of people with disabilities reported experiencing inconveniences when using kiosks. Additionally, they reported difficulties in using unmanned payment machines (38.5%) and ticket vending machines (32.3%).
The reasons for the inconveniences included 'orders are delayed, causing anxiety about the people behind me' (54.0%) and 'difficulty in finding button locations or selecting and moving through menus' (26.1%).
As a result, half of the people with disabilities who have experience using kiosks said they prefer to order from staff. This is approximately twice the rate (20.6%) of those who prefer to order directly through kiosks.
The preference for ordering from staff was highest among those with visual impairments at 72.3%, followed by wheelchair users (61.5%) and those with severe disabilities (51.6%).
To alleviate these inconveniences, they suggested 'staff placement or call button installation' (51.3%), 'establishing dedicated terminal areas for users who are not familiar with unmanned information terminals' (51.3%), and 'campaigns for awareness improvement' (44.4%).
Public institutions must ensure the information accessibility of people with disabilities regarding unmanned information terminals in accordance with the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities. 78.7% of the surveyed institutions responded that they are aware of this fact. In contrast, only 51.1% of individuals with disabilities reported being aware.
Based on the results of this survey, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to develop institutional improvement measures related to unmanned information terminals and establish guidelines to enhance the information accessibility of people with disabilities.