PARE0004 EASY TO OPEN/EASY TO USE: ACCESSIBILITY FOR PEOPLE WITH REDUCED HAND FUNCTION
Authors: Nina Unesi
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2019)

<h3>Background:</h3> One fifth of Sweden's population, more than 1.5 million people, has reduced hand function.<sup>[1]</sup> For the European population, it would equal well over 60 million people. People with reduced hand function, for example due to illness or age, are often unable to handle products or packaging without additional daily living aids. In addition to the 20 percent of the population with reduced hand function, often due to rheumatic disease, women on average have 40 percent lower hand strength than men. In other words, the market for inclusive design is huge and concerns a large portion of all consumers. The Swedish Rheumatism Association, SRA, has for many years fought for accessibility of products and services for our members. The SRA has a history spanning over 15 years of activism for inclusive design. The highlight being the launch of the universal standard <i>SS-ISO 17480:2015 Packaging - Accessible design - Ease of opening</i>, of which the SRA was a big contributor. However, the aim for this abstract is not to put emphasis on previous successes but to describe current attempts to make the packaging industry adapt a more inclusive design for the many people with reduced hand function. Every third year thousands of delegates visit Scanpack, Northern Europe's biggest packaging fair. Last year was the first time the SRA attended as an exhibitor, making the SRA the only non-profit organisation working for people with rheumatic diseases, to participate. 463 exhibitors from around 30 countries attended, with 16,500 delegates in total, of which 12,900 were visitors. The fair took place on October 23-26, 2018 in Gothenburg, Sweden. <h3>Objectives:</h3> "Products that are functional and easy-to-use for people with reduced hand function, are suitable for everyone". This tagline defined our work for inclusive design. We focused on three objectives in order to make more visitors at the fair aware of the benefits with inclusive design on packages and products. We addressed the packaging industry, the pharmaceutical industry and those who produce products for the public environment. These were the objectives: Everyone should know that it is possible to measure manageability. Everyone should know that help is available. Tests apply to all types of products and packaging. Everyone should know that there is an "Easy to use" and "Easy to open" seal of approval available for packages. <h3>Methods:</h3> At the fair, the SRA showed and told visitors how tests on manageability were done, and offered companies to do our small-scale tests of their products. We showed examples of packages that were approved with our certification method. The visitors were also encouraged to participate in our questionnaire. The questions they had to answer were: How many percent suffer from reduced hand function in Europe? 52 percent of the survey responses were correct. Correct answer: about 20 percent. Women have weaker hand strength, compared to men. How much weaker? 56 percent of the survey responses were correct. Correct answer: 40 percent. 328 people participated in the survey. <h3>Results:</h3> Representatives from leading packaging companies and visitors at Northern Europe's biggest packaging fair lack insight in the extent of reduced hand function in Sweden. Half of the participants who visited the SRA's exhibition responded correctly to our questionnaire regarding reduced hand function, suggesting there is room for improvement in the packaging industry to adapt a more inclusive approach towards design that benefits people with rheumatic diseases. <h3>Conclusion:</h3> Half of the participants who visited the SRA's exhibition responded correctly to our questionnaire regarding reduced hand function, suggesting there is room for improvement in the packaging industry to adapt a more inclusive approach towards design that benefits people with rheumatic diseases. <h3>Reference</h3> [1] Lorentzen, L. (2018). Öppna dig! : Handbok i design av lätthanterliga förpackningar. Sweden : Sweden for All. <h3>Disclosure of Interests:</h3> None declared