TY - JOUR
T1 - Assistive technology policy
T2 - a position paper from the first global research, innovation, and education on assistive technology (GREAT) summit
AU - MacLachlan, Malcolm
AU - Banes, David
AU - Bell, Diane
AU - Borg, Johan
AU - Donnelly, Brian
AU - Fembek, Michael
AU - Ghosh, Ritu
AU - Gowran, Rosemary Joan
AU - Hannay, Emma
AU - Hiscock, Diana
AU - Hoogerwerf, Evert Jan
AU - Howe, Tracey
AU - Kohler, Friedbert
AU - Layton, Natasha
AU - Long, Siobhán
AU - Mannan, Hasheem
AU - Mji, Gubela
AU - Odera Ongolo, Thomas
AU - Perry, Katherine
AU - Pettersson, Cecilia
AU - Power, Jessica
AU - Delgado Ramos, Vinicius
AU - Slepičková, Lenka
AU - Smith, Emma M.
AU - Tay-Teo, Kiu
AU - Geiser, Priscille
AU - Hooks, Hilary
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2018/7/4
Y1 - 2018/7/4
N2 - Increased awareness, interest and use of assistive technology (AT) presents substantial opportunities for many citizens to become, or continue being, meaningful participants in society. However, there is a significant shortfall between the need for and provision of AT, and this is patterned by a range of social, demographic and structural factors. To seize the opportunity that assistive technology offers, regional, national and sub-national assistive technology policies are urgently required. This paper was developed for and through discussion at the Global Research, Innovation and Education on Assistive Technology (GREAT) Summit; organized under the auspices of the World Health Organization’s Global Collaboration on Assistive Technology (GATE) program. It outlines some of the key principles that AT polices should address and recognizes that AT policy should be tailored to the realities of the contexts and resources available. AT policy should be developed as a part of the evolution of related policy across a number of different sectors and should have clear and direct links to AT as mediators and moderators for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The consultation process, development and implementation of policy should be fully inclusive of AT users, and their representative organizations, be across the lifespan, and imbued with a strong systems-thinking ethos. Six barriers are identified which funnel and diminish access to AT and are addressed systematically within this paper. We illustrate an example of good practice through a case study of AT services in Norway, and we note the challenges experienced in less well-resourced settings. A number of economic factors relating to AT and economic arguments for promoting AT use are also discussed. To address policy-development the importance of active citizenship and advocacy, the need to find mechanisms to scale up good community practices to a higher level, and the importance of political engagement for the policy process, are highlighted. Policy should be evidence-informed and allowed for evidence-making; however, it is important to account for other factors within the given context in order for policy to be practical, authentic and actionable.Implications for Rehabilitation The development of policy in the area of asssitive technology is important to provide an overarching vision and outline resourcing priorities. This paper identifies some of the key themes that should be addressed when developing or revising assistive technology policy. Each country should establish a National Assistive Technology policy and develop a theory of change for its implementation.
AB - Increased awareness, interest and use of assistive technology (AT) presents substantial opportunities for many citizens to become, or continue being, meaningful participants in society. However, there is a significant shortfall between the need for and provision of AT, and this is patterned by a range of social, demographic and structural factors. To seize the opportunity that assistive technology offers, regional, national and sub-national assistive technology policies are urgently required. This paper was developed for and through discussion at the Global Research, Innovation and Education on Assistive Technology (GREAT) Summit; organized under the auspices of the World Health Organization’s Global Collaboration on Assistive Technology (GATE) program. It outlines some of the key principles that AT polices should address and recognizes that AT policy should be tailored to the realities of the contexts and resources available. AT policy should be developed as a part of the evolution of related policy across a number of different sectors and should have clear and direct links to AT as mediators and moderators for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The consultation process, development and implementation of policy should be fully inclusive of AT users, and their representative organizations, be across the lifespan, and imbued with a strong systems-thinking ethos. Six barriers are identified which funnel and diminish access to AT and are addressed systematically within this paper. We illustrate an example of good practice through a case study of AT services in Norway, and we note the challenges experienced in less well-resourced settings. A number of economic factors relating to AT and economic arguments for promoting AT use are also discussed. To address policy-development the importance of active citizenship and advocacy, the need to find mechanisms to scale up good community practices to a higher level, and the importance of political engagement for the policy process, are highlighted. Policy should be evidence-informed and allowed for evidence-making; however, it is important to account for other factors within the given context in order for policy to be practical, authentic and actionable.Implications for Rehabilitation The development of policy in the area of asssitive technology is important to provide an overarching vision and outline resourcing priorities. This paper identifies some of the key themes that should be addressed when developing or revising assistive technology policy. Each country should establish a National Assistive Technology policy and develop a theory of change for its implementation.
KW - accessibility
KW - ageing
KW - assistive technology
KW - Disability
KW - economics
KW - impairment
KW - policy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047242183&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17483107.2018.1468496
DO - 10.1080/17483107.2018.1468496
M3 - Article
C2 - 29790393
AN - SCOPUS:85047242183
SN - 1748-3107
VL - 13
SP - 454
EP - 466
JO - Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology
JF - Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology
IS - 5
ER -