The priorities for development in low and middle income countries are set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are several cross-cutting issues that are relevant across a number of the SDGs, and they emphasise the need to ensure access to health, education, employment and other services. A basic element of access is the availability of safe and accessible transport from home to health providers, schools, workplaces, shops and family members. The association between disability and poverty means that such accessibility cannot be achieved through door-to-door vehicle transportation by specialised vehicles, but must involve travelling on roads and paths, crossing roads that are sometimes heavily trafficked, and using the cheapest forms of public transport.
However, a common characteristic of low- and middle-income countries is inadequate provision of footpaths, and the poor condition and accessibility of the paths that exist, through poor maintenance, misuse, blockages and discontinuity. Heavily trafficked roads can be difficult to cross because motorists do not comply with traffic laws at marked crossings and a lack of crossing points. In addition to these identifiable problems, there is also a challenge in providing solutions that meet the widely varying needs of persons with disabilities, which are best understood by people with disability themselves.
A team at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia developed a conceptual approach to addressing these issues in a manageable way that also incorporates direct engagement and feedback from persons with disabilities. The approach combines:
- access audits (such as those used in and around buildings and transport stops)
- and methods drawn from the road safety audit process (used extensively to assess the safety of road sections and intersections and to prioritise solutions).
The result was the Journey Access Tool (JAT), an illustrated checklist which is designed to be used for a personal ‘journey’ regularly taken by a person with a disability when they utilise services such as a hospital/clinic, employment or education, or seek general community access.
