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Information Environment & Balance
Issues
The information environment involves not only print and spoken information but also environmental information like difficulty finding your way through buildings. Confusing environments can increase balance problems and trigger disorientation and dizziness. As a consequence, a person can fall, feel sick, tire out more quickly, or feel an aggravation of her total stress level.
Examples of Problems
- A survivor attempts to reach brochures that have been placed too high on the wall. This triggers an episode of vertigo.
- An information board is covered in an array of postings in different shapes, colors, and sizes. While many of the postings contain vital information about job openings, services, etc, a person with functional limitations in balance may avoid looking at the board because it can trigger dizziness.
- While attending a community workshop or support group, a survivor needs to use the restroom. Without clear directional signs, the survivor goes to the end of the building only to discover that the restroom is on another floor. The survivor has to walk all the way back in the other direction to get to the elevator to get to the next floor. Frustrated with this experience, the survivor may decide to not access this service again.
Suggested Solutions
- Place brochures at a height where someone who has difficulty moving or who may need to sit to read a posted notice can reach it. Use a maximum height of 36”.
- Place postings on the wall at a position someone with a wheelchair would look at them. Try to create categories for postings. Post category names in a font or handwritten letter size that is large enough to grab the eye. Cluster postings visually with each name. Make sure out-of-date postings are routinely removed.
- For people who have general weakness, an abundance of wayfinding indicators (or signs) is helpful for finding paths of travel through a building. Clear signage can reduce people’s anxiety about finding their way. To be lost is to expend precious energy that a person may not be able to afford. Examine paths of travel - the path from an entrance to a waiting area, the path to an elevator, the path to a group meeting room, the path to a restroom. Test the route by having someone unfamiliar with the building answer the following questions.
- Can I figure out what to do and where to go upon entering the building?
- Is information easy to see and reach without being bombarded with too much information?
- Is there a place to sit to read important information in a comfortable light?
- If the restroom is on another level, is that clear from the reception area and made clear in multi-story buildings?
- When providers use other organization’s buildings for community meetings, prevention workshops, or support groups, providers should investigate the paths of travel in the building to the meeting space, to restrooms, and to drinking fountains. If anything is not clearly marked, post temporary signs to help guide people.
