A collaboration between Universitas Brawijaya (UB) students from the Psychology Study Program, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) and Regional and City Planning (PWK) Faculty of Engineering, researched the effectiveness of cognitive tactile paving to facilitate accessibility for the blind in Indonesia. They are Herdias Hayyal Falahi (Psychology), Adinda Azkia Putri Luqmana (Psychology), Destiana Dian Pratiwi (Psychology), Rahmat Rayansha (PWK), Putri Saviria Immarotun Nugroho (PWK).
Herdias Hayyal Falahi, as the team leader explained that tactile paving or guiding blocks have an important role in helping blind people orient and move around the environment. This facility not only provides physical assistance to mark paths and surface differences, but also significantly increases their independence and confidence in navigating their everyday environment.
“With tactile paving, they can more easily recognize and understand path patterns, potentially reducing anxiety and increasing safety when carrying out activities in public spaces,” said Falah.
Tactile paving is not just a physical facility, but a symbol of inclusion and accessibility which is very important for the blind community. However, there have been no studies that discuss further the cognitive effectiveness of using tactile paving by exploring the cognitive difficulties or mental workload experienced by the blind when walking with tactile paving.
Under the guidance of lecturer Ridwan Aji Budi Prasetyo, S.Psi, M.Sc., a team that is part of the Social Humanities Research Student Creativity Program (PKM-RSH) conducted research aimed at assessing the cognitive effectiveness of tactile paving in helping blind people orient and move, identify cognitive difficulties or mental burden experienced, and assess the impact on their independence and self-confidence. This research was successfully funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture.
In addition, this research will also study how tactile paving improves safety and accessibility in public spaces, as well as formulating recommendations for improving public facilities and policies related to accessibility for the blind in Indonesia.
“It is very important to carry out tests to determine cognitive difficulties in visually impaired when using tactile paving or without tactile paving. In this way, the cognitive effectiveness of tactile paving for blind people can be known,” said Falah.
This test was also carried out to fill gaps that have not been discussed in previous research regarding the use of tactile paving for the blind. This activity involves the Disability Community, namely the Blind Friends of Malang City.
During the research process, it was found that the majority of research participants still did not know about tactile paving facilities.
It should be noted that Indonesia, as one of the countries with the largest population in the world, has around 22.97 million people with disabilities, which covers around 8.5% of the total population (Kemenko PMK, 2023). From the various types of disabilities, the blind are one group that faces significant challenges in accessing public environments and facilities. Accessibility is one of the basic needs for the blind, especially for adequate walking in daily activities. [Team/Irene/ UB PR/ Trans. Iir]
