Understanding the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Technologies for Blind and Partially Sighted People: A Scoping Review With Narrative Synthesis

Authors: Raul Szekely, Daniel Hajas, Cathy Holloway, Maryam Bandukda

Published: SSRN (Preprint) (2025)

DOI · Publisher · PDF

Abstract

Assistive technologies (AT) have significant positive outcomes for blind and partially sighted people (BPS). However, academic research has historically focused primarily on the functional impact of these technologies, i.e., their effectiveness in improving independence in activities of daily living. The psychosocial impact of assistive technologies for blind and partially sighted people is less explored. This scoping review aimed to synthesise recent literature on psychosocial impact and the tools used to measure it. The scoping review involved a literature search of English-only peer-reviewed articles published between 2019 and 2024. The review included primary research, peer- reviewed journal articles, and conference proceedings. A literature search was conducted across diverse disciplines, including CINAHL (EBSCO), PsycINFO (EBSCO), ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar (first 100 records). 1,942 records were identified from the search, of which 21 records (1.08%) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the scoping review. The included studies highlighted both positive and negative aspects of AT use among people with BPS, showing how AT can improve users’ sense of independence, social inclusion, and well-being, while also presenting challenges related to stigma, dependency, and accessibility barriers. The review highlights three main gaps: (1) a need to diversify the research to improve global generalisability of research outcomes, (2) a lack of representation of people with disabilities in meaningful capacity in the AT design process, and (3) a need for a more nuanced understanding of the psychosocial outcomes in relation to AT use of their use.