PEACH Research Unit - at Dalhousie University

15/10/2025

🏡 We are still recruiting participants for the NeighbourABLE project! If you are interested or have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out by email to [email protected]! People are eligible to participate if they are over 18, live in a multi-unit rental building, and experience mobility-related challenges.

17/09/2025

Are you frustrated with digital device instructions?

We want to hear from you!

The PEACH Research Unit at Dalhousie University, in partnership with the Canadian Standards Association, is conducting a research project on how to make instructions for digital devices more accessible.

If you identify as blind, partially sighted, or deafblind, we would love to hear your story about learning to use personal devices such as smartphones, computers, and tablets.

There are 2 ways that you can participate!

1. Interview
Interviews last about 45 minutes, and all participants receive a $50 gift card. We welcome participants who:
Are blind, partially sighted, or deafblind,
Work as trainers or educators supporting people with vision impairments, or
Are manufacturers of digital or assistive devices.

To learn more or to arrange an interview, please contact us at [email protected]

2. Survey
If you are 18 years or older and identify as blind, partially sighted, or deafblind, we invite you to take part in our online survey. Each participant will have a 50% chance to win a $50 gift card upon completing it.

To take the survey, click on the link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T5WQ5Y3

Your participation will help us build a more inclusive and accessible digital environment. Thank you for considering!

Image description: A poster with information about the digital device instructions survey and interview opportunity. It includes icons of personal digital devices, such as a laptop, smartphone, and tablet, and also includes an icon of a woman walking a guide dog.

20/08/2025

PEACH Research Unit at Dalhousie University, in partnership with the Canadian Standards Association, is doing a research project about how to make instructions for using personal digital devices (like laptops, tablets, and smartphones) more clear and accessible for people with vision loss.

If you are 18 years or older and have a visual impairment, we would like to hear from you!

Complete our online survey for a chance to win a $50 gift card.

Click the link below or scan the QR code on the poster:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T5WQ5Y3

Image description: a post with a white background with a description of the survey. It includes icons of smart devices (a smartphone, tablet, and laptop) and an illustration of a woman with a seeing eye dog.

REB # 2025-7663

06/08/2025

🏘 We are recruiting participants for a research project called "NeighbourABLE"!

We are asking people who experience mobility challenges living in rental housing to be interviewed about their experience of housing in Halifax. We will also conduct an audit of participants' homes to see if they meet current accessibility standards. The findings of this research will answer questions about what accessibility features are currently available in rental housing and surrounding neighbourhoods, and identify what features are missing that would make a meaningful difference to the people who live there.

We will be providing a $100 honorarium to participants as a thank you for your time!

If this is of interest to you, please feel free to contact us at [email protected], or register at the link below!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LTRP86W

Image description: a colourful 2-page flyer with information about the NeighbourABLE research project. It includes information about what the project is about, who is eligible, and how to contact our team for questions. To request a screen reader friendly PDF, please email us at [email protected].

22/05/2024

We are excited to share this information about a free silent disco event happening this Access Awareness Week on June 1!

Silent Discos are inclusive accessible events to enjoy music and movement with others and control your own individual sensory experience. The AAW Silent Disco offers: Live DJs at two in-person locations: Richmond County & West Hants, or a Virtual Live Stream via Zoom. Special headsets at the Live DJ locations provide you with 3 playlist to choose from and personal volume control. CART and ASL will be provided with the live stream from the Richmond County DJ, so you can tune in from your own space or host your own community watch party to enjoy from anywhere.

Don't forget to register to attend at https://nsleo.com/aawns-events/

Image 1 Description: A sparkly disco ball and text that reads Silent Disco: An Accessible, Inclusive, All Ages Event. Saturday June 1st 3-5pm. In celebration of Access Awareness Week Nova Scotia and Canada's National AccessAbility Week. Scan here to learn more and register with a QR code. Logos from partners: PEACH Research Unit, National AccessAbility Week Nova Scotia with ReachAbility Association, Richmond County, Association of Municipal Administrators Nova Scotia, Government of Nova Scotia (Accessibility Directorate), Evolution Sounds Entertainment, West Hants County, Access Awareness Week Nova Scotia and the Panel for Access Awareness Nova Scotia.

Image 2 Description: A sparkly disco ball and people dancing with headsets on to a DJ with text: What is a Silent Disco? Do you love live DJ events but like to dance to your own beat? Then a Silent Disco is for you! Silent Discos are inclusive accessible events to enjoy music and movement with others and control your own individual sensory experiences. The AAW Silent Disco offers: Live DJs at 2 in-person locations: Richmond County & West Hants One Virtual Live Stream via Zoom Special headsets at the Live DJ locations provide you with 3 playlist to choose from and personal volume control. CART and ASL provided with the live stream from the Richmond County DJ, so you can tune in from your own space or host your own community watch party to enjoy from anywhere!

05/04/2024

Nominations are still being accepted for the Mel Hebb Hourglass Awards! Please take the time to nominate one or more of the many Nova Scotians taking the lead on access awareness before the new deadline, April 9.

There are six (6) awards that highlight different ways people can and have shown action towards access awareness in Nova Scotia.

Community Action Award: Communities and Municipalities who has been working to increase opportunities for persons with disabilities in their area.
Exceptional Service Award: An organization or a member of an organization with a mandate in service to persons with disabilities.
Encore Award: Persons with disabilities who has significantly contributed to the community.
Access Award: An individual, business, or organization without a mandate to serve persons with disabilities who has gone above and beyond.
Andre McConnell Award: To recognize an individual who, has gone above and beyond their duties as a provincial, municipal, or federal public servant.
Youth Champion Award: A youth with a disability in grade 6 - 12 who has significantly contributed to raising awareness on disability issues and championing accessibility.

Nomination forms are available on the NSLEO website, link below:
https://nsleo.com/initiatives/mel-hebb-awards/

Deadline for nomination forms is April 9th, 2024 at 4:30 PM.

Image description: Mel Hebb Hourglass Action Awards, Nominations Now Open! Visit www.nsleo.com/initiatives/mel-hebb-awards. On the left is an image of an hourglass with blue lines dividing between image and text. An orange sticker says, Nominations deadline extended in white letters! The Access Awareness Week Nova Scotia logo is on the top right corner.

04/04/2024

If you experience disability, or are a caregiver to someone who does, we want to learn from you about where and how far you travel in your neighbourhood!

Our online, anonymous survey is still accepting responses! Please take 5 minutes to tell us what destinations are important to you and how far they are from your home. Your responses inform our research on accessible community development, as part of the project, Benchmarking Spatial Access for Community-Level Accessibility.

The survey link is available on our website at peachresearch.ca/pedestrian-travel-survey/

Thank you for contributing to this research!

Image 1: A line-drawn map with icons for parking, grocery, transit, crossings, and a park on the righthand side. Arrows point from the icons to different places on the map. Bold text says, "What would be in your accessible neighbourhood?".

Image 2: A line-drawn map is the image background. Text says "Take a short survey to add to our ongoing research project, Benchmarking Spatial Access for Community-Level Accessibility. Supported by:" Partner logos for Walk 'n Roll Halifax, CNIB Foundation, and Rick Hansen Foundation are shown in white bubbles. Accessibility Standards Canada's logo is also in a white bubble entitled "Funded by".

Rick Hansen Foundation CNIB Foundation Walknrollhfx

27/03/2024

Day 1 of the conference in Vancouver is in full swing! We love all of the 5-minute neighbourhoods that participants have come up with so far, here are just a few of them! If you're here, come visit us next to the registration desk! If you can't make it, be sure to fill out our survey at the following link: https://peachresearch.ca/pedestrian-travel-survey/

12/03/2024

Image Description:
Mel Hebb Hourglass Action Awards, Nominations Now Open! Visit www.nsleo.com/initiatives/mel-hebb-awards. On the left is an image of an hourglass with blue lines dividing between image and text. The Access Awareness Week Nova Scotia logo is on the top right corner.

Caption Below:
Do you know someone who has taken leadership on access awareness? Nominate them for a Mel Hebb Hourglass Action Award!

There are six (6) awards that highlight different ways people can and have shown action towards access awareness in Nova Scotia. Please find award descriptions below.

If you know someone who reflects the values and actions of one of the awards, nominations are open at www.nsleo.com/initatives/mel-hebb-awards.

Deadline is March 28, 2024 at 4:30 PM.

Community Action Award: To recognize communities and municipalities dedicated to increasing opportunities for persons with disabilities in their area. This includes recreation opportunities, inclusive education, and employment opportunities, or other initiatives that lead to the full participation of persons with disabilities. We regret that improvements to accessibility that are mandated by the Accessibility Act cannot be considered for these awards.

Exceptional Service Award: To recognize an organization, or a member of an organization, that has gone beyond their mandate in service to persons with disabilities.

Encore Award: To recognize a person with a disability who has significantly contributed to the community.

Access Award: To recognize an individual, business, or group without a mandate to serve persons with disabilities, that has worked to improve access to facilities or services that increase opportunities and access for persons with disabilities, including within education, employment, recreation, or other areas of life. PAANS regrets that improvements to accessibility that are mandated by the building code cannot be considered for these awards.

Andre McConnell Award: To recognize an individual who, has gone above and beyond their duties as a provincial, municipal, or federal public servant and has demonstrated: A Commitment to person centered service – always putting the needs and concerns of persons with disabilities first; and true dedication to supporting persons with disabilities to fully participate in their communities.

Youth Champion Award: To recognize a youth with a disability (Grade 6 – 12) who has significantly contributed to raising awareness of disability issues and championing accessibility.

About the Awards:

The Hourglass Action Awards were launched in 1992 during National Access Awareness Week. That year, an hourglass symbolized the spirit of timely action the awards recognize.

In 2000, the name of the Award was changed to the Mel Hebb Hourglass Action Awards in honour of Mr. Melbourne Hebb, a former awards committee chair. Hebb, who passed away in October 1999, was the personification of dedicated action.

01/02/2024

Do you experience barriers getting around your neighbourhood?

We are asking people living with disabilities (18 years of age and older) from across Canada to participate in a short, anonymous online survey asking about neighbourhood walk-and-wheelability – or, in other words, how accessible it is to travel as a pedestrian to daily destinations.

The survey asks for general information on how you travel as a pedestrian, such as where, how far, and how often you walk or wheel to places in your neighbourhood. Complete the survey at the link below, or email us at [email protected] to learn more! https://peachresearch.ca/pedestrian-travel-survey/

An audio invitation to this survey is available and can also be shared using the following link, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qc2Y6jRbgEl6gB-BjtvnMgYHoXopL0nR/view?usp=sharing

[Image description: A digital poster with white text on a blue background and a cartoon image of people with diverse abilities standing, walking or wheeling on a neighbourhood street.]

Rick Hansen Foundation

21/11/2023

Are you a student at Dalhousie University? Are you 17-24 years of age?

If you answered ‘yes’ to both, we hope you will answer our survey on perceptions of disability!

The survey is online and is completely anonymous. Please find the survey at the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1UI46AxP2EqoRUsKdEdZjdflXXIQTBac-p71kkNWKw3w/

The purpose of this survey is to compare the general attitudes and knowledge of young adults toward disability and persons with disability, and to assess the possible influence of historic events around disability rights and policies related to populations with disability in two countries (Japan and Canada).

If you have any questions about this research, please email the research team at [email protected].



Image description: A pale blue poster with black text. PEACH and Dalhousie logos are in the top and bottom right corners, and a blue and orange banner at the top contains a stylized International Symbol of Disability.

29/09/2023