UEA survey seeks to improve disabled access to lab professions
14 Feb 2023
University of East Anglia researchers are appealing to participants nationwide to contribute to their survey into the state of disabled access in UK laboratories.
The project, led by Dr Katherine Deane of UEA’s School of Health Sciences, wants to determine why, when a large minority of working age adults have a disability, they remain poorly represented in science professions.
Said Deane: “This aspect of diversity is often overlooked. There are solvable barriers to working in labs and these negatively impact on the diversity of the scientists working in labs.”
Physical access is often a key contributor to the lack of representation in many areas of working life. Despite the fact that many laboratories are new builds, there remain problems, explained Deane.
“When people walk into a building, they assume they will be able to open doors, walk up stairs, or go to the toilet when needed. Unfortunately, disabled people cannot make these assumptions in many buildings, even modern ones. Buildings that house facilities that address more technical needs such as laboratories are often even more inaccessible,” she stated.
“This lack of access means there are too few disabled scientists today, and this reduces the quality and relevance of the science being done.”
The UEA team is appealing for professionals with an interest in improving accessibility in the lab to take part in their online survey before the Friday, 24 February 6pm deadline.
Survey results will inform their wider research, which aims to better understand how to design accessible labs – focusing not only on furniture, facilities and equipment but working practices too. The work will also involve creation of case studies on how to overcome access barriers and form the basis for new disability guidelines for laboratories.
Added Deane (pictured): “We want to find out how to adapt lab protocols, equipment, working practices, training, and culture to ensure maximum accessibility.
“We know that lab work needs to be shared with the world, so we will also ask about how to ensure consultations, conferences, publications, and web pages are also accessible,” she added.
To take part in the Access All Areas survey and read more about the project, click here.
