A acessibilidade arquitetônica interfere na usabilidade de indivíduos com mobilidade reduzida? Does accessibility interfere in usability of people with restricted mobility?

One of the goals of the Occupational Therapy’s intervention is to guarantee the inclusion of the individuals in all aspects of their lives with the maximum of independence and autonomy. Beyond the avaliation of the physical environment (accessibility), the professional must verify the usability, which is the persons’ subjective avaliation of the degree in which the environment restricts their performance. This study was made with the objective to investigate, under the individuals with restricted mobility’s point of view, if the architecture conditions interfere in their activities and participation in the Escola de Educacao Fisica, Fisioterapia e Terapia Ocupacional (EEFFTO) of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), to verify their satisfaction about UFMG’s support and their suggestions of adaptation. For that, a mixed and descriptive study (survey type) was developed. A questionnaire was applied between May and September of 2008 with 26 persons with restricted mobility. The questionnaire had 4 descriptive questions and 21 multiple choice questions. The initial questions aimed to describe the sample, the others broached the access and use of the physical environment. In the accessibility’s classification, 73% of the individuals considered that the EEFFTO in general had “Great conditions of access”. This shows their satisfaction with the access conditions of the building, although some irregularities had already been evidenced; so the architecture barriers don’t interfere in the usability of these individuals.