Assistive technology acceptance for visually impaired individuals: a case study of students in Saudi Arabia

Assistive technology (AT) helps students who suffer from visual impairments to achieve their study goals; however, AT’s adoption in Saudi universities is not yet explored. This paper adopts and then extends the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to incorporate factors influencing the AT’s acceptance based on a designed survey. The survey data was analyzed using Structural Equational Modelling (SEM) with the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique. The results showed that the factors influencing technology acceptance in this context differed from those previously found to influence acceptance in other contexts. The differences were further studied using post-interview, which shows that the differences are related to limited awareness of visual disability and AT and psychological sensitivity of disabled users in Saudi culture. Moreover, this study provides a list of recommendations for overcoming barriers that limit the acceptance of assistive techniques by Saudi students with visual disabilities. This work’s results provide recommendations for the Saudi government and administrators concerning access to assistive technology in universities and facilitate access to other technologies and other contexts.