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Globally, one in three individuals needs at least one assistive product. The primary objective of this study was to conduct a survey of Pakistani rehabilitation service providers to determine what proportion provide assistive technology and if their characteristics (including geographical region, education, and experience) are associated with adherence to the service delivery process. The secondary objective was to determine if individuals that provide assistive technology adhere to a standard assistive technology service delivery process. The tertiary objective was to determine if the providers that adhered to a standard delivery process had characteristics that differed from the rest of the service providers. An online survey composed of multiple-choice questions was distributed to physiotherapists, community-based healthcare workers, and related rehabilitation professions through a convenience sampling method. SPSS Statistics was used to develop correlation matrices to determine Pearson's coefficient of number of steps, education level, experience level and continuing education received. There were 71 respondents from 4 Pakistani provinces. 53.5% of respondents stated they provide assistive technology. There was participation in most steps of the service delivery process. There is weak correlation between number of steps and education level, number of steps and experience level, and number of steps and continuing education received. While the majority of respondents provide assistive technology, a significant proportion (46.5%) don't. This may suggest there is a need for additional advocacy and awareness raising of the benefits of and how to access assistive technology in Pakistan. Pakistan implemented a Rapid Assistive Technology Assessment and determined that only 22% of the population that needs an assistive device has had their needs met. From a relatively small sample, this study investigated if there is a presence of assistive technology service delivery in Pakistan and whether traditional education, experience, or continuing education promotes participation in the assistive technology service delivery process. This study found a presence of assistive technology service delivery in Pakistan, but found weak correlations between participation in the service delivery process with traditional education, experience, and continuing education. These findings suggest that there is room for additional advocacy and awareness training on assistive technology in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To test the hypotheses that, after the delivery of manual wheelchairs following the WHO 8-step service-delivery process, wheelchair-related health and quality of life, wheelchair skills, wheelchair use, and poverty probability would improve; and that the number of wheelchair repairs required, adverse events, caregiver burden, and the level of assistance provided would decrease. This was a longitudinal, prospective within-subject study including 247 manual wheelchair users, and 119 caregivers, in El Salvador who received a wheelchair following the WHO 8-step process as well as maintenance reminders. Outcome measurements were performed via structured questionnaires and dataloggers at the initial assessment, at wheelchair delivery, and at 3- and 6-month follow-up. Significant improvements in wheelchair-related health indicators (all with p < 0.004) and quality of life (p = 0.001), and a significant reduction in national and "extreme" poverty probability (p = 0.004 and p = 0.012) were observed by six months. Wheelchair use significantly decreased (p = 0.011 and p = 0.035) and wheelchair skills increased (p = 0.009). Caregiver burden did not change (p = 0.226) but the number of activities of daily living (ADLs) that required no assistance significantly increased (p = 0.001) by three months and those who required complete assistance decreased (p = 0.001). No changes were observed in wheelchair repairs (p = 0.967) and breakdowns over time with new wheelchairs. Wheelchair service delivery using the WHO 8-step process on manual wheelchair users in El Salvador has positive effects on health and quality of life, wheelchair skills, caregiver assistance levels, and poverty. Further research is needed to determine the relative contributions of the intervention components. Providing manual wheelchairs using the 8-step process of the WHO has benefits on health and quality of life, wheelchair skills, caregiver assistance levels, and poverty. The WHO 8-steps service delivery process for manual wheelchairs can be used in less-resourced settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assistive Technologies encompass a wide array of products, services, healthcare standards, and the systems that support them. Product/market fit is necessary for a technology to be transferred successfully. Current tools lack variables that are key to technology transfer, and current trainings do not have a validated tool to assess the effectiveness of a training, increasing innovators' readiness for technology transfer. The goal was to develop a tool to evaluate the readiness of a technology by incorporating other models and focusing beyond just commercialization. The development involved five stages: 1. Review of current tools used in technology transfer in academic, government, and industry settings; 2. Development of the draft version of the tool with internal review; 3. Alpha version review and refinement, 4. Content validation of the tool's beta version; 5. Assessment of the readiness tool for reliability and preparedness for wide-use dissemination. The tool was revised and validated to 6 subscales and 25 items. The assistive technology subscale was removed from the final version to eliminate repetitive questions and taking into consideration that the tool could be used across technologies. We developed a flexible assessment tool that looked beyond just commercial success and considered the problem being solved, implications on or input from stakeholders, and sustainability of a technology. The resulting product, the Technology Translation Readiness Assessment Tool (TTRAT)TM, has the potential to be used to evaluate a broad range of technologies and assess the success of training programs. Quality of life can be substantially impacted when an assistive technology does not meet the needs of an end-user. Thus, effective Assistive Technology Tech Transfer (ATTT) is needed. The use of the TTRAT may help to inform NIDILRR and other funding agencies that invest in rehabilitation technology development on the overall readiness of a technology, but also the impact of the funding on technology readiness. The TTRAT may help to educate novice rehabilitation technology innovators on appropriate considerations for not only technology readiness, but also general translation best practices like assembling a diverse team with appropriate skillsets, understanding of the market and its size, and sustainability strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this mixed-methods study were to gather survey and interview data about the barriers and facilitators from grantees funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) and to extract themes that could inform program changes that would increase technology translation (TT) success in assistive technology (AT). We developed a TT Barriers and Facilitators survey consisting of Likert scale and multiple-choice questions about barriers and facilitators to TT. With survey respondents who were willing, we conducting a semi-structured interview and asked pointed questions to expand upon survey response rankings and perceived barriers and facilitators. The questions were framed to explore the grantee's personal experience with ATTT and what helped and hindered their individualised processes. Across survey and interview respondents, the three most common themes when exploring the barriers and facilitators of TT were funding, incentives, and collaboration. Results indicate that there is a need for increased collaboration and access to additional resources such as funding for pilot grants, support to assess technology marketability, help to navigate regulatory and legal aspects, and assistance in establishing goals to help grantees successfully transfer assistive technologies to consumers. A large amount of research and development into assistive technology does not lead to tech transfer which means that these technologies are not getting to the people that need them. Educating tech transfer offices at universities about how to transfer AT would improve outcomes greatly. Creating a community of practice where grantees can find academic or industry partners would also increase the likelihood of tech transfer. Some tools to catalyse these improvements are: mentoring, access to consultants, podcasts, and online training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We sought to identify opportunities, challenges, contemporary initiatives and strategies for preparing entry-level practitioners who are competent at the basic level of wheelchair service provision across four key international professional rehabilitation organisations as revealed by their educational standards, relevant guidelines and policy statements, and other publicly available information. A rapid review was conducted in 2021 from the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM), the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO), World Physiotherapy, and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). Additional grey-literature and grey-data searches were conducted to identify contemporary initiatives that may support competency development in wheelchair service provision. A total of 17 standards, guidelines, and policy statement documents were selected for detailed review. Each of the four organisations published at least one document containing language relating to wheelchair service provision. Twelve contemporary initiatives relating to wheelchair service provision were identified from the grey literature across the four organisations. Six additional initiatives were identified from the organisations' social media accounts. Themes emerged in the areas of contemporary content, opportunities, and challenges. Global standardisation could help harmonise professional societies' approach to training wheelchair service providers. There is a need to provide more descriptive content on wheelchair service provision in education and service standards and related documents to influence what is taught in professional rehabilitation programs that are accredited or approved by professional rehabilitation organisations. The organisations' networks are vast and may also help to promote additional continuing education in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are no manually propelled wheelchairs on the market that are mobile in both seated and standing positions. In response to this product gap, our group formerly designed a mobile manual standing wheelchair (MMSW) and gathered stakeholder feedback. The purpose of this study was to refine the MMSW based on feedback, including weight and width reduction, and evaluate its performance. The MMSW was subjected to ANSI/RESNA stability testing, and three male participants completed a subset of the wheelchair skills test, including a 100-m roll test in the MMSW (seated and standing) and in their ultralight wheelchair. The MMSW met ANSI/RESNA stability safety standards. During the 100-m roll test, participants reached speeds with the MMSW in both the standing and sitting postures similar or greater than those typical of moving in the home environment (1.11 m/s seated; 0.79 m/s standing). Mobility speeds in the MMSW in the standing position were about three times faster than average walking speeds in exoskeletons (0.26 m/s exoskeletons). With the addition of chain drive bracing to the MMSW, one user was able to reach speeds in the standing position similar to average neurotypical walking speeds indicating the possibility for wheelchair users to be able to move in pace with family and friends. All participants expressed interest in the MMSW to facilitate improved quality of life. Further work is needed to test the utility of the MMSW in home and community settings, and its potential effects on standing time and health outcomes. Manual standing wheelchairs with standing mobility may increase functional utility and length of standing time for manual wheelchair users Increased standing time may lead to several health benefits for manual wheelchair users [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]