Elderly populations are growing rapidly worldwide, thus enhancing an increasing need for their independent health care, productivity, and most importantly, balance of occupations. This research is aimed at investigating the active ageing levels and time use patterns of an elderly population attending the Community Elderly School in a suburban village of northern Thailand. These participants comprised 140 persons aged 60 years and older and were without cognitive deficits, based on the Mini-Mental State Examination. Active ageing levels and time use patterns were collected by following an interview-based questionnaire. The results showed that the level of active ageing was moderate (mean active ageing index (AAI) was 0.79). All of the participants used their time in varied activities, including the seven categories: basic activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, rest and sleep, education, work, leisure, and social participation. Furthermore, they spent most of their time resting and sleeping.

Background Assistive technology (AT) is a way to enhance the performance of daily activities in people with disabilities and help them live more independently. However, an important problem in providing AT lies in the effectiveness of information management. Local policymakers and health service providers have become aware of this problem and their perspectives are the key to solving it. Methods This study explored the types of AT provided for people with disabilities in the community and the perspectives on information management of local policymakers and health service providers. A survey checklist and semistructured in-depth interview were the instruments of this study. The key informants in this study included administrators, nurses, and physical therapists from four community areas in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Results The medical records showed that the types of AT provided were mostly second-hand (57.24%) and borrowed devices (57.73%). All of them were low-tech devices (crutch, cane, walker, wheelchair, and adaptive tricycle). In addition, the results indicated three perspective aspects related to information management: (1) problems in the database recording system, (2) different policies and processes of information management, and (3) improvement of the AT provision system. Conclusion The perspectives of local policymakers and health service providers indicated related problems, impacts of policies, and ways to improve the AT provision system by applying information technology.

Most students diagnosed with disabilities in Thai special education schools received assistive technologies, but this did not guarantee the greatest benefits. The purpose of this study was to survey the provision, use and needs of assistive technologies, as well as the perspectives of key informants regarding a model of providing them in special education schools. The participants were selected by the purposive sampling method, and they comprised 120 students with visual, physical, hearing or intellectual disabilities from four special education schools in Chiang Mai, Thailand; and 24 key informants such as parents or caregivers, teachers, school principals and school therapists. The instruments consisted of an assistive technology checklist and a semi-structured interview. Results showed that a category of assistive technologies was provided for students with disabilities, with the highest being “services”, followed by “media” and then “facilities”. Furthermore, mostly students with physical disabilities were provided with assistive technologies, but those with visual disabilities needed it more. Finally, the model of providing assistive technologies was composed of 5 components: Collaboration; Holistic perspective; Independent management of schools; Learning systems and a production manual for users; and Development of an assistive technology center, driven by 3 major sources such as Government and Private organizations, and Schools.

The purpose of this research was to study the facilitators and barriers of assistive technology (AT) and the learning environment for children with special needs in special education schools in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The informants were one hundred and sixteen children with special needs, who studied in nursery to Grade 12, or with their caregivers. The instrument was a questionnaire applied by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and examined for content validity by five specialists. The results in terms of AT showed that a majority of children with physical disability needed it for mobility and use of school buildings and those with hearing disability for communication. However, most of the children did not need to use AT for culture, recreation, or sports, while many considered it as a facilitator for education. In terms of the learning environment, most characteristics of the physical environment were facilitators for children with special needs, as were those of the social environment for all groups of such children. The results of this study were useful in providing information for AT and design of a learning environment relating to the varied characteristics of children with special needs in special education schools.

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The ageing population is having an impact worldwide and has created a serious challenge in Thailand's healthcare systems, whereby healthcare practitioners play a major role in promoting independent interaction of their client's abilities, as well as environmental factors. The purpose of this study was to survey features of the home and assistive technology (AT) for the home-bound elderly in the community of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Home evaluation included features inside and outside the home, and AT was based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) concept. Methods included observation and an interview that were used by the researcher for evaluation. The study found that every home had at least one hazardous home feature such as inappropriate width of the door, high door threshold, tall stair steps, no bedside rail, and inappropriate height of the toilet pan. AT was found in houses as general products and technology for personal use in daily living and for personal indoor and outdoor mobility as well as transportation. Therefore, home features and AT can afford the home-bound elderly independent living within the community. Perspective AT according to the ICF concept could provide a common language for ageing in place benefits.

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The objectives of this study were to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an emergency alert device for elderly people and people with disabilities by usability testing. There were two phases in this study: (1) development of a prototype for an emergency alert device and (2) usability testing of the device. Results presented development of the prototype, which comprised parts for sending and receiving signals. There were two kinds of alarms for emergency calls known as conscious and unconscious alerts. Participants in the usability testing phase included 12 specialists and 161 users that comprised 146 elderly people or people with disabilities and 15 caregivers or community health volunteers. The instruments used were a rating scale, usability checklist, and individual interviews regarding the usability, general appearance, and use of the device. The users agreed with the overall aspects regarding usability of the device, its general appearance, and use (X¯ ± SD = 4.24 ± 0.88, 4.11 ± 0.90, and 4.37 ± 0.83, respectively). Most of the participants, both specialists and users, gave their perspectives on improving the size, color of the letters displayed, type of wristband, and method for sending signals.