Assistive/rehabilitation technology, disability, and service delivery models

• Published in: Cognitive processing Vol. 13; no. Suppl 1; pp. 75 - 78
• Main Authors: Adya, Meera, Samant, Deepti, Scherer, Marcia J., Killeen, Mary, Morris, Michael W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.08.2012
• Subjects: Artificial Intelligence; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Computer Systems; Disability Evaluation; Disabled Persons - rehabilitation; Humans; Models, Theoretical; Neurosciences; Self-Help Devices; Short Report; United Nations; World Health Organization; Disability; Assistive technology devices; Rehabilitation; Community-based rehabilitation; Assistive technology services; Universal design
• ISSN: 1612-4782; 1612-4790
• DOI: 10.1007/s10339-012-0466-8

The United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals do not explicitly articulate a focus on disability; similar failures in the past resulted in research, policy, and practice that are not generalizable and did not meet the needs of persons with disabilities since they were developed for an “average” population. Academics and professionals in health and other disciplines should have a knowledge base in evidence-based practices that improve well-being and participation of people with disabilities through effective service delivery of assistive technology. Grounded by a theoretical framework that incorporates a multivariate perspective of disability that is acknowledged in the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, we present a review of models of assistive technology service delivery and call for future syntheses of the fragmented evidence base that would permit a comparative effectiveness approach to evaluation.