1801 - Experiential Learning in Accessibility-Focused Innovation: Evaluation of a Mini Make-A-Thon

Friday, February 20, 2026

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM AST

Presenting Author(s)

MA

Mehreen Ali, BS

Medical Student
Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Villa Park, Illinois, United States
OO

Oluwabusayo Oni, BS

Medical Student
Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Urbana, Illinois, United States
JK

Jona Kerluku, BS

Medical Student
Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Urbana, Illinois, United States
DN

Debora Nya, BS

Medical Student
Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Urbana, Illinois, United States

Co-Author(s)

GR

Gregory Ridgel, BS

Medical Student
Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Urbana, Illinois, United States
DC

Diamond Coleman, BS, MPH

Medical Student
Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Urbana, Illinois, United States
JB

Joe Bradley, PhD, MBA

Health Innovation Professor, Clinical Associate Professor
Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Urbana, Illinois, United States

Submitter(s)

MA

Mehreen Ali, BS

Medical Student
Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Villa Park, Illinois, United States

Objectives: The inclusion of disability-related training helps to close gaps in medical education, resulting in physicians who are prepared and more inclined to treat people with disabilities. Gaps in medical education contribute to healthcare inequities for people with disabilities. The Mini Make-A-Thon (MMT), hosted by the medical-student initiative Innovators in Action (IIA), was designed to connect medical students with families of children with complex medical needs to create solutions to common problems they face. This study evaluated how participation in the MMT served as an experiential learning experience, influenced attitudes on disability needs, approach to design thinking, and interest in accessibility-focused innovation.

Design: Pre- and post-event surveys were collected from 40 participants at a single MMT event and two months after. Students were introduced to child-centered, empathetic design principles and paired with family-provided prompts. Interdisciplinary teams followed engineering design methods to develop solutions, pitched them to families and facilitators, and received direct feedback. Key outcomes assessed included familiarity with disability-related projects, children’s needs, perceived innovation skill development, teamwork, and interest in continued accessibility-focused work within their careers.

Results: Survey responses were completed by 39 participants. Before the event, 38.5% were unfamiliar and 48.7% somewhat familiar with the specific needs of children with disabilities, and 64.1% had never worked on a disability- or assistive technology-related project. Post-event, 97.5% reported increased interest in pursuing accessibility-focused innovation, and participants noted improved teamwork and innovation skills

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that experiential learning events, like MMT, serve as an effective introduction to accessibility-focused innovation. Survey findings further indicate that experiential events like MMT fostered skill development and connections amongst physician-innovators and the patients they aim to serve, and should be used to further address gaps in medical education and inspire continued work in accessibility and inclusive design.