Enabling appropriate personnel skill-mix for progressive realization of equitable access to assistive technology

Abstract

There is a resolve to address the challenges faced by People globally to access assistive technology. Context specific needs assessment is required to understand the AT Personnel landscape, to shape and strengthen credentialing frameworks through competencies and certification, acknowledging both general and specific skill mix requirements. Implications for Rehabilitation Personnel in assistive technology (AT) provision should be trained using a person-centred team approach, which emphasizes appropriate skill-mix to address multiple needs within the community. Sustainability indicators should be used which allow personnel to monitor, measure and respond to needs for service design and delivery. A competence framework with associated education and training program, coupled with the development and implementation of a certification framework for AT personnel needs, will promote quality in AT personnel training globally.

Are there differences in factors influencing access and continued use of assistive products for people with intellectual disabilities living in group homes?

“…A pro-active approach from the providers of AP to conduct follow-up and consolidated maintenance is key and should always be considered for this population. It is clear that AP has to be provided systemically [35]; and this means thinking through the needs and opportunities for people with ID in terms of products [36], personnel [37], users [38], its provision [39] and policy [40]; as well as other systems issues.…”

Development of a toolkit for educators of the wheelchair service provision process: the Seating and Mobility Academic Resource Toolkit (SMART)

“…Current approaches to providing education and training to wheelchair service providers include formal and informal methods by several different entities, including universities, non-governmental organizations, and humanitarian organizations [10]. The recently proposed systematic approach to training assistive technology personnel identified the need for basic competence across a range of devices at the community level, followed by specialization of personnel in product groups, including personal mobility devices such as wheelchairs [11]. This method aligns with both the Wheelchair Service Provider Certification process offered by the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) [12], as well as evolving health care professional education standards [13].…”

“…Although ideally situated to provide education and training to current and emerging wheelchair service providers [11], universities face certain challenges in integrating wheelchair education into curricula. Educators in university rehabilitation programs have identified issues at three of the five states of the integration process: advocacy (e.g., limited faculty interest or resistance to integration of wheelchair content), planning (e.g., lack of awareness of resources), and course development and delivery (e.g., lack of time, lack of expertise) [18].…”

Undergraduate physiotherapy students’ basic wheelchair provision knowledge: a pilot study in two universities in Colombia

“…In developing countries, where the majority of people with disabilities live, only between 5-15% have access to the wheelchair they need to fully realize their human rights [2]. One of the key factors that contribute to this situation is the lack of personnel trained in wheelchair provision [2,3]. In 2018, the 71st World Health Assembly recalled that access to assistive technology and associated services are human rights [4] and recognized that the inclusion of assistive technologysuch as wheelchairsin universal health coverage efforts is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and "leaving no one behind" [5,6].…”

“…One way to improve the quality of the workforce is to include wheelchair service training in the formal rehabilitation curriculum [14]. It is necessary to understand which rehabilitation professionals (e.g., occupational therapists, physical therapists, physiatrists, prosthetists/orthotists) have wheelchair provision within their scope of practice in various contexts to implement targeted evidence-based training interventions [3,16,17].…”