Cost Analyses in Assistive Technology Research

Abstract

Economic evaluation has become one of the principal methodologies in outcomes research within the health care field in general and specifically in assistive technology. Efforts to define and develop a consistent methodology for assistive technology economic evaluations have been hampered by lack of familiarity with the various terms and concepts associated with cost analysis, an essential aspect of economic evaluations. Adapting these concepts, which were constructed to suit a medical model, to the needs of the assistive technology field has been a challenge as well. This article outlines terms and concepts basic to cost analysis. The authors then consider five studies that relate costs to outcomes in order to illustrate the challenges, choices, and trade-offs researchers make when adapting this methodology to assistive technology. The article concludes by seeking to stimulate further discussion of the complexity inherent in assessing costs in assistive technology outcomes research and calling for the development of a standardized and consistent economic evaluation methodology.

Using the ICF in economic analyses of Assistive Technology systems: Methodological implications of a user standpoint

“…Examples include the perspective of treating medical staff, allied health professionals, family carers, AT providers and funding institutions, government health authorities, insurers, and last but not least the perspective of the persons concerned, the AT users themselves. The illustration provided by Harris and Sprigle highlights travel costs, which are pertinent to patients responsible for attending medical treatment at a particular time and place, while health insurance companies are unlikely to see patients' travel costs as a health-related expense [6].…”

“…In their 2003 article, 'Cost analyses in assistive technology research', Frances Harris and Stephen Sprigle [6] insist that identifying the viewpoint or perspective of a study is the first and most vital component of economic evaluations. Examples include the perspective of treating medical staff, allied health professionals, family carers, AT providers and funding institutions, government health authorities, insurers, and last but not least the perspective of the persons concerned, the AT users themselves.…”

“…6 Using the ICF, health economists are forced to declare which aspects of the reality of persons living with a disability they are prepared to include in their analysis, and which ones they exclude -and why. Once these questions are openly raised, economists must ensure their methods and methodologies can encompass the complexities and contradictions in the actual lives of AT users.…”

Assessing children with multiple disabilities for assistive technology: A framework for quality assurance

“…[24,25] * Meso level measures of outcome include: the user's perception of quality of care received by the CAT (e.g., user's satisfaction); users' compliance with AT recommendations [21] (e.g., use and non-use of selected AT). * Macro level measures of outcome include: overall users' satisfaction with the service delivery system; efficiency [13], defined as the evaluation of the resources spent on the AT intervention in comparison with the cost of an alternative intervention [22,23]. In particular, the resources employed for the AT intervention may be analyzed in terms of social costs, referring to the sum of all resources spent by all actors involved in the AT process [24,25].…”

Impacto psicosocial de los productos y tecnologías de apoyo para la comunicación en personas con discapacidad auditiva y personas sordas

“…Tanto los investigadores como los trabajadores que trabajan en la clínica están interesados en las medidas de resultados y PA. Por poner un ejemplo, los terapeutas ocupacionales utilizan los modelos para describir y predecir la función de los PA (Lenker & Paquet, 2003). Pero existe escasas investigación en cuanto a la intervención específica de algunos PA y las medidas de resultados de los mismos (Fuhrer, 2007;Harris & Sprigle, 2003;Jutai, Fuhrer, Demers,Lenker, Jutai, Demers, Scherer & DeRuyter, 2010;.Y es un conocimiento vital para los profesionales como terapeutas ocupacionales, logopedas y rehabilitadores en general además de las administraciones públicas y servicios privados, y en cierta parte es necesario conocerlo para evitar el abandono o falta de uso de los PA, como comentábamos con anterioridad por tanto los investigadores y los profesionales deben de colaborar para realizar investigación basada en evidencia así como en la educación y formación de los profesionales (Fuhrer, 2007).…”