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New accessibility features in the Little Journey app!

We’re committed to supporting all children to better health. As part of this, we're making some key accessibility updates to enhance families’ experience, thanks to grant funding from SBRI Healthcare (the Small Business Research Initiative). You’ll notice some visual improvements next time you open the app, but don't worry—all the features are still there and work just as you're used to!

Little Journey characters dressed as construction workers surround a smartphone displaying the new app home screen design.

We’re dedicated to building inclusive products

We’ve been rebuilding our features from the ground up, both in design and code. Collaborating with industry-leading experts, we've focused on creating experiences that are usable, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone, including people with disabilities:

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Vision

Supporting users who are blind, partially sighted, or colour blind.

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Hearing

Accommodating those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

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Mobility

Ensuring ease of use for individuals with impaired motor skills.

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Neurodiversity

Providing accessible experiences for people with dyslexia, autism, or learning difficulties.

What's changed?

A graphic showing what the Little Journey home screen looked like before the accessibility changes, and what it looks like now.

Home screen

We've updated the app's navigation, moving from a side menu to a modular home screen with large buttons. We've also added a bottom navigation bar, so users can quickly return to the home screen anytime. These updates ensure a smoother experience, making it easier for families to find what they need while using the app. 

Tours and video content

We’ve added a scan bar to all our tours and video content, making it easier to rewatch key parts—or an entire video—for better understanding. Transcripts are now available for users who are deaf, hard of hearing, or situationally impaired, with closed captions and subtitles rolling out in the coming months.

A graphic showing a child pointing at the transcripts button on a Little Journey hospital tour.
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Assistive technologies

Our updated features now fully support assistive technologies like screen readers and keyboard navigation, ensuring a more seamless experience for all users.

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Supporting large text sizes

The app now supports dynamic text, automatically adjusting to your device's text size settings for improved readability, especially for users with vision impairments.

Why are we doing this now?

A group of children and hospital staff looking at the camera.

Our mission

We strive to support all children to better health, and we can only achieve this when our products are usable and enjoyable for everyone.

A magnifying glass examining a section of a graph.

Responding to expert feedback

Throughout the design and development process, we conducted several audits with industry-leading accessibility experts and user testing with children. Their feedback helped us to prioritise the key changes to make the app more accessible for as many users as possible.

Four hands coming together to show teamwork.

Incoming legislation

In 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will take effect, requiring more digital services to meet accessibility standards for individuals with disabilities and those with temporary impairments. By implementing changes now, we can ensure compliance while enhancing the experience for our hospital partners and users.

Patient, family and hospital benefits

1 in 5 people in the UK have a disability1. That’s about the same number as those with brown eyes. By improving access to Little Journey, more children and caregivers can benefit from our preparation and psychological support resources. Independent studies show that this also brings benefits to their hospitals:

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Over 93% of caregiver users strongly agree that using Little Journey increased awareness, increased understanding, and decreased anxiety for them and their child.2

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30% faster recovery time post-surgery.3

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42% reduction in on-the-day cancellations.3

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For every £1 invested in Little Journey, cost-benefit analysis shows £3.50 of benefit within the health care system and a further £6.00 of social benefits.3

As a human-centred designer by background, I believe accessibility is essential to our mission. These product improvements allow us to provide more meaningful support, tailored to the unique needs of each user. I’m proud of the team and the incredible partnerships we've built with leading organisations, like SBRI, Autistica and The LEGO Foundation, whose support and funding have been crucial in making this vision a reality. Together, we’re working hard to create a better healthcare experience for ALL children.

1645454541876
Co-founder & CPO — Little Journey Sophie Copley

79% of caregivers strongly agreed that the Little Journey app was easy to use—our goal is to make that 100%. 

Pilot study at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital

[N = 24]

Watch this space!

This is just the beginning of our accessible journey. Initially, we want to roll out further improvements to the rest of the app, including onboarding, relax, and games.  

Long term, we’re establishing an Accessibility Centre of Excellence, which aims to bring accessibility expertise, education and responsibility into our teams. Our vision is for Little Journey to become a leader in creating accessible and inclusive products and experiences for children, teenagers and caregivers. 

A member of hospital staff looking through a pair of binoculars.

Do I need to update the app?

The app will keep working with the previous version until updated. The update may occur automatically, or when you manually choose to update depending on your device settings. You will not have access to the new accessibility features until the app updates.

Why do some parts look the same as they did before the update?

We are making accessibility improvements in an incremental way, which allows us to release improvements as soon as they’re ready. We will prioritise games, relaxation activities and onboarding next.

Are the accessibility features available for all pathways?

The new accessibility features are available in all our paediatric care pathways. This includes surgery, MRI, blood tests, CT, endoscopy and mental health. 

Unfortunately, the features are not yet available for our AICU (adult intensive care) or NICU (neonatal intensive care) pathways. This is due to the differences in how these pathways have been created to meet the requirements for adult users.

I don't need accessibility features. Will this update affect my experience?

No, the update enhances accessibility without affecting the core functionality of the app. If you don’t need these features, your experience will remain the same. 

Will these accessibility changes slow down the app?

No, the accessibility improvements should not impact the app’s performance. The app should run just as efficiently as before

What if users experience issues with the new accessibility features?

If you encounter any problems or have feedback about the accessibility features, please contact our support team at hello@littlejourney.health. We are committed to continually improving the app’s accessibility and welcome your input.

Will there be more accessibility improvements in the future?

Yes, we are committed to making the app as accessible as possible. We’ll continue listening to user feedback and improving accessibility in future updates.

References: 1 Disability, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk). 2 Unpublished data from a pilot study with Joe Dimaggio Children’s Hospital in 2023. [n=24]. 3 Evaluation report of the Little  Journey mobile application (healthinnovationeast.co.uk).