Introduction: Despite the plethora of sensor-based assistive technology solutions, there is still no widespread acceptance and adoption by people who are blind or have low vision (i.e., visually impaired). Many reasons prevent reducing abandonment levels with a prominent one being a lack of focus on the dimension of training, which, from our standpoint, is integral to the acceptance of assistive technologies. To prove the importance of training, we extend and validate a new version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model incorporating training as a factor. Methods: Closed- and open-ended questionnaires were given online and offline to 231 participants with visual impairments after conducting training sessions with an application for outdoor navigation by people with visual impairments developed by our research team. To assess the UTAUT extension exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation model were employed to explore the relationships between the factors. A usability and user experience qualitative analysis supplemented the previous. Results: We uncovered that no factor besides performance expectancy (standardized regression weight = 0.264, p < .001) and training (standardized regression weight = 0.538, p < .001) significantly predict behavioral intention. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrated a significant interaction ( p < .007) strengthening the positive relationship between training and behavioral intention (standardized regression weight = 0.142). The qualitative analysis showed an overall positive evaluation highlighting the application's usefulness and dependability. Discussion: An application's adoption increases if individuals who are visually impaired are properly trained and acquainted with the features in real-life scenarios and recognize the application's utility for their daily lives. Implications for Practitioners: Training plays an important role in technology acceptance. It can be leveraged to make solutions more appealing to people who are visually impaired.

中文翻译：

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接受基于智能手机的辅助技术的挑战：为视力障碍人士扩展 UTAUT 模型

简介：尽管有大量基于传感器的辅助技术解决方案，但仍然没有被盲人或视力低下（即视力受损）的人广泛接受和采用。阻碍降低遗弃水平的原因有很多，其中一个突出的原因是缺乏对培训维度的关注，而从我们的角度来看，培训维度是接受辅助技术不可或缺的一部分。为了证明培训的重要性，我们扩展并验证了新版本的技术接受和使用统一理论 (UTAUT) 模型，将培训作为一个因素。方法：在使用我们研究团队开发的视力障碍人士户外导航应用程序进行培训课程后，对 231 名视力障碍参与者进行了线上和线下的封闭式和开放式问卷调查。为了评估 UTAUT 扩展，采用探索性因素分析、验证性因素分析和结构方程模型来探讨因素之间的关系。可用性和用户体验定性分析补充了之前的分析。结果：我们发现，除了表现预期（标准化回归权重 = 0.264，p < .001）和训练（标准化回归权重 = 0.538，p < .001）之外，没有其他因素可以显着预测行为意图。此外，分析表明显着的交互作用 (p < .007) 加强了训练和行为意图之间的正相关关系（标准化回归权重 = 0.142）。定性分析显示出总体积极的评价，突出了该应用程序的实用性和可靠性。讨论：如果视障人士接受适当的培训并熟悉现实生活场景中的功能并认识到应用程序在日常生活中的实用性，那么应用程序的采用率就会增加。对从业者的启示：培训在技术接受度方面发挥着重要作用。它可以用来使解决方案对视障人士更具吸引力。