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Information on available assistive technology products and services plays a key role in improving effective access to assistive solutions to those who need it. To address their information need, public databases have been established in several countries over the years.The Global Assistive Technology Information Network (EASTIN) was initiated in 2005 to aggregate the contents of the major databases; now it involves 28 countries and provides a unique picture of the range of AT products available on the market worldwide. The paper describes the EASTIN approach, the technology used, the results achieved and its contribution to fulfill the people right to assistive technology information.

Robots have the potential to support care and independence of older adults. The ENRICHME project is developing an integrated system composed of a robot, sensors and a networking care platform, aiming at assisting older adults with MCI in their home environment. This paper reports findings of the tests performed on a sample of MCI users and their caregivers, with the first version of the ENRICHME system, in a controlled environment.

The study reported in this paper developed criteria and guidelines for writing up a good-quality AT Assessment Report - a document which is often required to activate an assistive technology intervention for an individual client. The Report should provide precise recommendations about the assistive solutions that best meet the client's needs, explain the underlying reasoning, provide evidence of appropriateness for the funding agency and set the baseline for later measurement of the outcomes of the intervention. Within this study, forty-eight clients with severe disability conditions were recruited in nine rehabilitation Centers in various regions of Italy. They were assessed for assistive solutions by their rehabilitation teams according to a common protocol; assessment Reports were produced for each client according to the same template, and individual AT interventions were activated following the recommendations. Then the Reports underwent a blind peer-review exercise involving over fifty professionals, who evaluated their quality against ten criteria; based on the findings, the template of the AT Assessment Report was revised and good-practice guidelines were inferred for the contents of each field. Now the final version is freely downloadable and is being used routinely in the Centers that participated in the study.

Powered wheelchairs are complex and expensive assistive devices that must be selected and configured on the basis of individual user needs, lifestyle, motivation, driving ability, and environment. Providing agencies often require evidence that their financial investment will lead to a successful outcome. The authors surveyed a sample of 79 users who had obtained powered wheelchairs from a Regional Health Service in Italy in the period 2008-2013. Follow-up interviews were conducted at the users' homes in order to collect information about wheelchair use, and its effectiveness, usefulness, and economic impact. The instruments used in the interviews included an introductory questionnaire, QUEST (Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology), PIADS (Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale), FABS/M (Facilitators and Barriers Survey/Mobility), and SCAI (Siva Cost Analysis Instrument). The results indicated positive outcomes, especially in relation to user satisfaction and psychosocial impact. A number of barriers were identified in various settings that sometimes restrict user mobility, and suggest corrective actions. The provision of a powered wheelchair generated considerable savings in social costs for most users: an average of about $38,000 per person over a projected 5-year period was estimated by comparing the cost of the intervention with that of non-intervention.

This study surveyed a sample of 79 wheelchair users who had obtained powered wheelchairs from the National Health Service in an Italian Region in the period 2008-2013. The wheelchair prescriptions had been done on the basis of an assessment protocol agreed with the Local Health Authority. Follow-up interviews were carried out at the users' homes, in order to collect information about the wheelchair use and its effectiveness, usefulness and economic impact. The instruments used in the interviews included an introductory questionnaire (describing the wheelchair use), the QUEST (measuring the user's satisfaction), the PIADS (measuring the psychosocial impact, in terms of perceived changes in ability, adaptability and self-esteem), the FABS/M (detecting environmental facilitators and barriers) and the SCAI (estimating the economic impact). Overall, positive outcomes were detected for most users, especially in relation to their satisfaction and the psychosocial impact. A number of barriers were identified in various settings (at home, in public places, in natural spaces, in public transportation) that sometimes restrict the user mobility and thus may claim for corrective actions. Several environmental factors acting as facilitators were also identified. In relation to the economic impact, the provision of a powered wheelchair generated remarkable savings in social costs for most of the users, on average about 36.000 Euros per person on a projected 5-years span. This estimate results from the comparison between the social cost of the intervention (sum of the costs of all material and human resources involved in the provision and usage of the wheelchair) and the cost of non-intervention (the presumed social cost incurred in case no powered wheelchair had been provided and the user had to carry on with just a manual wheelchair). The study was also an opportunity to develop and try out a follow-up method that proved applicable within service delivery practice.

The European Assistive Technology Information Network (EASTIN), launched in 2005 as the result of a collaborative EU project, provides information on Assistive Technology products and related material through the website www.eastin.eu. In the past few years several advancements have been implemented on the EASTIN website thanks to the contribution of EU funded projects, including a multilingual query processing component for supporting non expert users, a user rating and comment facility, and a detailed taxonomy for the description of ICT based assistive products. Recently, within the framework of the EU funded project Cloud4All, the EASTIN information system has also been federated with the Unified Listing of assistive products, one of the building blocks of the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure initiative.