Aging & Society: Eighth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

The conventional measurements of accessibility among people with disability and the ageing generation may have focused on structural changes but ignored the barriers that may be prominent to mobility impaired individuals or the authority responsible for the desired optimal change needed may be structurally oriented and this may not be mainly physical. This paper highlights some of the inherent problems associated with measuring and achieving an optimally accessible workplace for mobility impaired individuals in a work environment. Mobility impairment disability, a created niche for this study, is divided into two categories: non-ambulatory and semi-ambulatory mobility impairment disability. The study explores the importance of accessibility on health, safety, and well-being of the workplace with a focus on mobility impaired individuals. A Qualitative Methodology approach using interviews with those affected by disability and their managers and subsequent thematic analysis was employed to derive an inductive understanding of an individual’s (study participants) experience and interpretation of their experience. The discussion and conclusion that will be highlighted will elicit the factors that influence workplace adjustment and the overarching influence of accessibility over a better outcome for workplace safety and wellbeing.