Ayse G Zengul, Eric Evans, A. Cherrington, T. Mehta, Mohanraj Thirumalai
Self-management interventions help improve health behaviors and outcomes. People with physical disabilities are more prone to various chronic conditions. A better understanding of the disability-focused self-management interventions is needed. This study aims to review the impact of self-management interventions on adult individuals with physical disabilities and chronic conditions. A scoping review of the literature was conducted on August 19th, 2021, through a search in the PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases to synthesize results from original studies regarding the impact of self-management interventions on adult individuals with physical disabilities and chronic conditions. The review was undertaken in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Synthesis without meta-analysis (Swim) guideline. Seventy-nine records were extracted from 3069 individual articles retrieved from the search strategy. We summarized the evidence on the content and behavior change skills, technology use, disease adjustment skills, and frequently used outcomes, including various physical, behavioral, and emotional symptoms. The results demonstrate promising evidence that self-management interventions are effective at improving health outcomes in people with physical disabilities and chronic conditions. By addressing the research gaps, the findings specify the essential contours for future research and disability-inclusive self-management programs.
{"title":"Self-management interventions for people with physical disabilities who have chronic conditions: A scoping review","authors":"Ayse G Zengul, Eric Evans, A. Cherrington, T. Mehta, Mohanraj Thirumalai","doi":"10.3233/tad-220388","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/tad-220388","url":null,"abstract":"Self-management interventions help improve health behaviors and outcomes. People with physical disabilities are more prone to various chronic conditions. A better understanding of the disability-focused self-management interventions is needed. This study aims to review the impact of self-management interventions on adult individuals with physical disabilities and chronic conditions. A scoping review of the literature was conducted on August 19th, 2021, through a search in the PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases to synthesize results from original studies regarding the impact of self-management interventions on adult individuals with physical disabilities and chronic conditions. The review was undertaken in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Synthesis without meta-analysis (Swim) guideline. Seventy-nine records were extracted from 3069 individual articles retrieved from the search strategy. We summarized the evidence on the content and behavior change skills, technology use, disease adjustment skills, and frequently used outcomes, including various physical, behavioral, and emotional symptoms. The results demonstrate promising evidence that self-management interventions are effective at improving health outcomes in people with physical disabilities and chronic conditions. By addressing the research gaps, the findings specify the essential contours for future research and disability-inclusive self-management programs.","PeriodicalId":22201,"journal":{"name":"Technology and Disability","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69504477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andrea Leiton-Muñoz, R. Cartes-Velásquez, Valeska Gatica-Rojas
BACKGROUND: Children with Down syndrome (DS) may struggle adjusting their posture during gait or standing and tend to adapt slower to demanding motor tasks and environmental changes. The functionality in their daily activities is frequently diminished or they are slower, with poor postural control and balance as possible reasons. There is limited research on exercise programmes to improve postural control in children with DS. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectivenes of an exercise programm with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (NWBB) interface o postural control and functional balance of children with DS. METHODS: Participants were five children age 6–9 years belonging to the legal organization Espacio Down (in Talca, Chile), who underwen an exercise programm with the NWBB. The duration of the intervention wa 9 weeks, with two 25-minute sessions per week and a total intervention timeof 7.5 hours for each subject. Postural control pre-/postintervention was evaluated at a functional level with clinical tests: Timed Up and Go (TUG), One-Leg Standing (TOLS) and posturographic measures using centre of pressure (CoP) variables Descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon test were applied, with p< 0.05 considered to be significant. RESULTS: Th NWBB programme showed a significant decrease in the CoP total velocity, mean velocity and displacements in themediolateral and anteroposterior directions (p= 0.021) for the closed-eyes condition and a decrease in the time of the TUG test (p= 0.021). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study provides initial evidence for the effectiveness of the NWBB programme in children with DS. A 9-week NWBB programme improves the postural control and functional balanceof children with DS.
{"title":"Effects of virtual reality training in the postural control of children with Down syndrome: A case series","authors":"Andrea Leiton-Muñoz, R. Cartes-Velásquez, Valeska Gatica-Rojas","doi":"10.3233/tad-220370","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/tad-220370","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND: Children with Down syndrome (DS) may struggle adjusting their posture during gait or standing and tend to adapt slower to demanding motor tasks and environmental changes. The functionality in their daily activities is frequently diminished or they are slower, with poor postural control and balance as possible reasons. There is limited research on exercise programmes to improve postural control in children with DS. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectivenes of an exercise programm with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (NWBB) interface o postural control and functional balance of children with DS. METHODS: Participants were five children age 6–9 years belonging to the legal organization Espacio Down (in Talca, Chile), who underwen an exercise programm with the NWBB. The duration of the intervention wa 9 weeks, with two 25-minute sessions per week and a total intervention timeof 7.5 hours for each subject. Postural control pre-/postintervention was evaluated at a functional level with clinical tests: Timed Up and Go (TUG), One-Leg Standing (TOLS) and posturographic measures using centre of pressure (CoP) variables Descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon test were applied, with p< 0.05 considered to be significant. RESULTS: Th NWBB programme showed a significant decrease in the CoP total velocity, mean velocity and displacements in themediolateral and anteroposterior directions (p= 0.021) for the closed-eyes condition and a decrease in the time of the TUG test (p= 0.021). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study provides initial evidence for the effectiveness of the NWBB programme in children with DS. A 9-week NWBB programme improves the postural control and functional balanceof children with DS.","PeriodicalId":22201,"journal":{"name":"Technology and Disability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42069747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fiora D’amico, G. Lancioni, Flavio De Marinis, Fabiana Abbinante, P. Taurisano, Chiara Abbatantuono, L. Desideri
BACKGROUND: People with advanced Alzheimer’s disease tend to be sedentary and passive unless staff intervene to support their occupation. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study assessed the impact of a technology-aided program set up to help participants at the low end of the moderate or at the severe level of the disease access preferred stimulation and carry out simple/basic activities involving the use of everyday objects. METHODS: The program (a) relied on the use of a tablet, a voice-recording device, and a mini speaker and (b) provided the participants with verbal and visual instructions to guide them in carrying out the activity steps and accessing preferred stimulation. The program was implemented with five participants according to a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design. RESULTS: During the baseline phase (i.e., prior to the use of the program), the participants carried out less than 15% of the activity steps and relied on the research assistants to access preferred stimulation (songs). During the intervention phase (i.e., with the program), the participants’ percentage of activity steps carried out increased to between about 58 and 92. Moreover, all participants were largely successful in accessing preferred stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the technology-aided program used in this study might help increase the level of positive occupation of people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
{"title":"A technology-aided program to support positive occupation in people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease: A pilot study","authors":"Fiora D’amico, G. Lancioni, Flavio De Marinis, Fabiana Abbinante, P. Taurisano, Chiara Abbatantuono, L. Desideri","doi":"10.3233/tad-221507","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/tad-221507","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND: People with advanced Alzheimer’s disease tend to be sedentary and passive unless staff intervene to support their occupation. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study assessed the impact of a technology-aided program set up to help participants at the low end of the moderate or at the severe level of the disease access preferred stimulation and carry out simple/basic activities involving the use of everyday objects. METHODS: The program (a) relied on the use of a tablet, a voice-recording device, and a mini speaker and (b) provided the participants with verbal and visual instructions to guide them in carrying out the activity steps and accessing preferred stimulation. The program was implemented with five participants according to a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design. RESULTS: During the baseline phase (i.e., prior to the use of the program), the participants carried out less than 15% of the activity steps and relied on the research assistants to access preferred stimulation (songs). During the intervention phase (i.e., with the program), the participants’ percentage of activity steps carried out increased to between about 58 and 92. Moreover, all participants were largely successful in accessing preferred stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the technology-aided program used in this study might help increase the level of positive occupation of people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease.","PeriodicalId":22201,"journal":{"name":"Technology and Disability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43429197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BACKGROUND: Technology-driven assistive devices provide numerous benefits to people with severe visual impairments, yet device take-up rates are often low. OBJECTIVE: The study sought to determine the strengths of connections between transportation self-efficacy, technophobia, personal inertia, innovation resistance, and willingness to adopt high-tech transportation assistive devices among visually impaired individuals. It also examined certain potential barriers to device acceptance; namely the perceived safety and complexity of assistive devices and the effects on a person’s self-image of using a device. METHODS: A model was developed and tested via a questionnaire survey of 319 people with visual disabilities, each of whom was presented with five examples of hypothetical high-tech mobility and transportation assistive devices. RESULTS: Technophobia exerted a powerful negative impact on innovation resistance and was itself significantly determined in part by transportation self-efficacy. Personal inertia and the effects of device use on self-image failed to impact significantly on the participants’ levels of innovation resistance. CONCLUSIONS: The results have implications for the promotional activities of manufacturers of mobility and transportation assistive devices and for visual disability support organisations that wish to secure acceptance of new assistive devices.
{"title":"Willingness of people with severe visual impairments to accept new transportation assistive technologies","authors":"R. Bennett, Rohini Vijaygopal","doi":"10.3233/tad-221502","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/tad-221502","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND: Technology-driven assistive devices provide numerous benefits to people with severe visual impairments, yet device take-up rates are often low. OBJECTIVE: The study sought to determine the strengths of connections between transportation self-efficacy, technophobia, personal inertia, innovation resistance, and willingness to adopt high-tech transportation assistive devices among visually impaired individuals. It also examined certain potential barriers to device acceptance; namely the perceived safety and complexity of assistive devices and the effects on a person’s self-image of using a device. METHODS: A model was developed and tested via a questionnaire survey of 319 people with visual disabilities, each of whom was presented with five examples of hypothetical high-tech mobility and transportation assistive devices. RESULTS: Technophobia exerted a powerful negative impact on innovation resistance and was itself significantly determined in part by transportation self-efficacy. Personal inertia and the effects of device use on self-image failed to impact significantly on the participants’ levels of innovation resistance. CONCLUSIONS: The results have implications for the promotional activities of manufacturers of mobility and transportation assistive devices and for visual disability support organisations that wish to secure acceptance of new assistive devices.","PeriodicalId":22201,"journal":{"name":"Technology and Disability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47750057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BACKGROUND: “Science Dissemination for Scholars with Disabilities” is a noteworthy topic which is still sparse and needs more attention by the scientific community. OBJECTIVE: In order to increase interest in the study of science and on access to research without exclusion emphasis needs to be paid towards innovation within a scientific environment. Our hope is to encourage further consideration by the scientific community and present strategies that promote the full inclusion of scholars with disabilities in society. METHODS: This work is the result of research experiences in the field of Science and Inclusion within the activities carried out at the ICTP Scientific Fabrication Laboratory of Trieste, in Italy, over the last eight years. Description of some issues on the use of open source digital technologies available at Scientific FabLabs to support education and scientific know-how for all are assessed, and a collection of interesting novel approaches developed in our SciFabLab are given as examples. The discussion is presented to motivate further research and give technological priorities. RESULTS: We discuss and show concrete examples on how to make “almost anything” through Scientific FabLabs to disseminate science and remove practical barriers offering people with disabilities more independence and opportunities to study science. Standard theories of Disability in the STEM context are also discussed. CONCLUSIONS: This contribution is relevant from the point of view of the social model in that supportive digital tools developed at Scientific FabLabs can be manufactured with participation, assistance and presence by people with a disability. Through this class of Fablabs, we aim to sustain new generations of scientists without any exclusion.
{"title":"Science and inclusion","authors":"Enrique Canessa, Carlo Fonda","doi":"10.3233/tad-220387","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/tad-220387","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND: “Science Dissemination for Scholars with Disabilities” is a noteworthy topic which is still sparse and needs more attention by the scientific community. OBJECTIVE: In order to increase interest in the study of science and on access to research without exclusion emphasis needs to be paid towards innovation within a scientific environment. Our hope is to encourage further consideration by the scientific community and present strategies that promote the full inclusion of scholars with disabilities in society. METHODS: This work is the result of research experiences in the field of Science and Inclusion within the activities carried out at the ICTP Scientific Fabrication Laboratory of Trieste, in Italy, over the last eight years. Description of some issues on the use of open source digital technologies available at Scientific FabLabs to support education and scientific know-how for all are assessed, and a collection of interesting novel approaches developed in our SciFabLab are given as examples. The discussion is presented to motivate further research and give technological priorities. RESULTS: We discuss and show concrete examples on how to make “almost anything” through Scientific FabLabs to disseminate science and remove practical barriers offering people with disabilities more independence and opportunities to study science. Standard theories of Disability in the STEM context are also discussed. CONCLUSIONS: This contribution is relevant from the point of view of the social model in that supportive digital tools developed at Scientific FabLabs can be manufactured with participation, assistance and presence by people with a disability. Through this class of Fablabs, we aim to sustain new generations of scientists without any exclusion.","PeriodicalId":22201,"journal":{"name":"Technology and Disability","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136170561","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andrea Botta, Paride Cavallone, L. Tagliavini, G. Quaglia
BACKGROUND: Traditional manual wheelchair users suffer from upper limbs injuries due to the propulsion gesture. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents the experimental activity addressed to define the dynamic characteristics of a novel manual wheelchair. The design and realization of the wheelchair aim to reduce injuries of the upper limbs related to conventional wheelchairs. A new index called Peak Of Force, POF, is defined and applied to the different wheelchair manual propulsion systems. METHODS: The wheelchair speed and the left and right-hand forces exerted by the user are monitored. The tests have been performed by changing the transmission ratio of the wheelchair and the wheelchair speed. RESULTS: The indices MEF and FEF are lower than 100% due to the lateral and radial forces for hand-rim wheelchairs and handbikes. For Handwheelchair.Q these indices are equal to 100%. The mean value of index POF for Handwheelchair.Q is 51.75%, while it is about 42.5% for the hand-rim wheelchair, and 57.6% for the handbike. CONCLUSIONS: The user forces for Handwheelchair.Q depend on the wheelchair speed and the pulley radius. The larger pulley radius reduces the average and the maximum force. A variable transmission ratio can be implemented on the proposed wheelchair.
{"title":"Experimental study on a novel manual wheelchair","authors":"Andrea Botta, Paride Cavallone, L. Tagliavini, G. Quaglia","doi":"10.3233/tad-220395","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/tad-220395","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND: Traditional manual wheelchair users suffer from upper limbs injuries due to the propulsion gesture. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents the experimental activity addressed to define the dynamic characteristics of a novel manual wheelchair. The design and realization of the wheelchair aim to reduce injuries of the upper limbs related to conventional wheelchairs. A new index called Peak Of Force, POF, is defined and applied to the different wheelchair manual propulsion systems. METHODS: The wheelchair speed and the left and right-hand forces exerted by the user are monitored. The tests have been performed by changing the transmission ratio of the wheelchair and the wheelchair speed. RESULTS: The indices MEF and FEF are lower than 100% due to the lateral and radial forces for hand-rim wheelchairs and handbikes. For Handwheelchair.Q these indices are equal to 100%. The mean value of index POF for Handwheelchair.Q is 51.75%, while it is about 42.5% for the hand-rim wheelchair, and 57.6% for the handbike. CONCLUSIONS: The user forces for Handwheelchair.Q depend on the wheelchair speed and the pulley radius. The larger pulley radius reduces the average and the maximum force. A variable transmission ratio can be implemented on the proposed wheelchair.","PeriodicalId":22201,"journal":{"name":"Technology and Disability","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69504860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Turidh Barbara Jacobsen, G. Haanes, M. S. Petersen
BACKGROUND: Only a few studies have investigated the effects of assistive devices (ADs) from the user’s perspective. This knowledge is important for clinical and policy decision-making. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to determine to what extent older people experience less difficulty in performing daily activities after having received uncomplicated ADs such as bath chairs and rollators. METHODS: The study had a pretest – post-test intervention design where the outcomes were evaluated using the Individually Prioritized Problem Assessment (IPPA) and analyzed with paired t-tests. Effect sizes (ES) were interpreted according to Cohen’s d. People aged ⩾ 67 years with sufficient cognitive or hearing functioning necessary to participate in an interview were included. RESULTS: This study enrolled 52 home-dwelling persons aged 69–93 years. Baseline IPPA score was 17.29 ± 4.27 points (mean ± standard deviation), follow-up score 9.29 ± 4.47 points, indicating a significant reduction in the mean difficulty score of 8.64 points (95% confidence interval: 7.37–9.81 points) (p⩽ 0.001). The ES at the group level was 1.57 and varied from no to large effect. CONCLUSIONS: Receiving uncomplicated ADs significantly reduced the difficulties experienced by older people. However, the large variations in the ES highlight the importance of providing individually tailored training programs for mobility ADs, which should be considered in further outcome studies.
{"title":"Outcomes of uncomplicated assistive devices with older people: A pretest-post-test intervention study in a small community","authors":"Turidh Barbara Jacobsen, G. Haanes, M. S. Petersen","doi":"10.3233/tad-220394","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/tad-220394","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND: Only a few studies have investigated the effects of assistive devices (ADs) from the user’s perspective. This knowledge is important for clinical and policy decision-making. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to determine to what extent older people experience less difficulty in performing daily activities after having received uncomplicated ADs such as bath chairs and rollators. METHODS: The study had a pretest – post-test intervention design where the outcomes were evaluated using the Individually Prioritized Problem Assessment (IPPA) and analyzed with paired t-tests. Effect sizes (ES) were interpreted according to Cohen’s d. People aged ⩾ 67 years with sufficient cognitive or hearing functioning necessary to participate in an interview were included. RESULTS: This study enrolled 52 home-dwelling persons aged 69–93 years. Baseline IPPA score was 17.29 ± 4.27 points (mean ± standard deviation), follow-up score 9.29 ± 4.47 points, indicating a significant reduction in the mean difficulty score of 8.64 points (95% confidence interval: 7.37–9.81 points) (p⩽ 0.001). The ES at the group level was 1.57 and varied from no to large effect. CONCLUSIONS: Receiving uncomplicated ADs significantly reduced the difficulties experienced by older people. However, the large variations in the ES highlight the importance of providing individually tailored training programs for mobility ADs, which should be considered in further outcome studies.","PeriodicalId":22201,"journal":{"name":"Technology and Disability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49055289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BACKGROUND: Thousands of United Arab Emirates (UAE) citizens are living with physical challenge that render them incapable of performing routine activities the rest of us take for granted. OBJECTIVE: This paper investigated utilization of currently available and emerging assistive technologies, and examined the level of awareness of such technologies among the physically challenged population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Knowing the level of awareness and usage of assistive technologies can phase the way for governments, and other stakeholders to develop effective policies that are capable of improving the lives of the physically challenged population. METHODS: This research conducted a survey of a total of 50 participants (30 females and 20 males) with varieties of physical disabilities. The data collected from the survey participants were tallied by counting the number of participants’ response to series of simple Yes/No questions. RESULTS: Results have shown that only 40% are currently using assistive technologies; with 61.2% being aware of existing assistive technologies. The most identified currently available assistive technologies among survey participants are the wheelchair and transportation vans, and the least identified emerging technologies are systems that respond to head nod. With regards to the newly emerging technologies, only 10% of participants are aware of them, with (70%) willing to use the newly emerging technologies if made available. Also, 60% of the participants benefit from government assistance, and 40% from both philanthropic and family support. With regards to employability, only 2% are fully employed. CONCLUSIONS: The overall low-level of awareness of (both currently available and emerging assistive technologies) observed is an indication of the need for substantial work that needs to be done towards creating an effective awareness program capable of increasing the overall utilization of assistive technologies.
{"title":"Level of assistive technology use and awareness among people with physical disability in the United Arab Emirates","authors":"Sayyed Maisikeli","doi":"10.3233/tad-220393","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/tad-220393","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND: Thousands of United Arab Emirates (UAE) citizens are living with physical challenge that render them incapable of performing routine activities the rest of us take for granted. OBJECTIVE: This paper investigated utilization of currently available and emerging assistive technologies, and examined the level of awareness of such technologies among the physically challenged population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Knowing the level of awareness and usage of assistive technologies can phase the way for governments, and other stakeholders to develop effective policies that are capable of improving the lives of the physically challenged population. METHODS: This research conducted a survey of a total of 50 participants (30 females and 20 males) with varieties of physical disabilities. The data collected from the survey participants were tallied by counting the number of participants’ response to series of simple Yes/No questions. RESULTS: Results have shown that only 40% are currently using assistive technologies; with 61.2% being aware of existing assistive technologies. The most identified currently available assistive technologies among survey participants are the wheelchair and transportation vans, and the least identified emerging technologies are systems that respond to head nod. With regards to the newly emerging technologies, only 10% of participants are aware of them, with (70%) willing to use the newly emerging technologies if made available. Also, 60% of the participants benefit from government assistance, and 40% from both philanthropic and family support. With regards to employability, only 2% are fully employed. CONCLUSIONS: The overall low-level of awareness of (both currently available and emerging assistive technologies) observed is an indication of the need for substantial work that needs to be done towards creating an effective awareness program capable of increasing the overall utilization of assistive technologies.","PeriodicalId":22201,"journal":{"name":"Technology and Disability","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41642025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Minh Hoa Nguyen, Thi Duyen Ngo, Nguyen Ba Hung, Can Van Mao, Hai-Dang Kieu, Thanh Ha Le
BACKGROUND: On-screen keyboard controlled by gaze is the most useful approach to help people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) communicate. However, the design of the traditional on-screen keyboard hinders gaze typing for languages other than English. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is developing a specialized on-screen keyboard controlled by gaze for Vietnamese people with ALS. METHODS: Designed on-screen keyboard layouts and selection mechanism based on the requirements of eye typing and Vietnamese language characteristics from the statistics results on the Vietnamese Wikipedia Corpus dataset. During the experiment, we also absorbed and modified some design features according to the users’ suggestions. RESULTS: The authors proposed two new specialized on-screen keyboard layouts controlled by eye gaze for the Vietnamese language which both speed up typing and reduce typos. The results of the experiment are an average typing speed of respectively 23.1 and 26.1 characters per minute, and an average error rate of 10% and 0.5% for the two layouts. All participants were satisfied when using the system at their house. CONCLUSIONS: Although the effectiveness of the proposed method depends on the time of use and the familiarity of users with the new keyboard, the potential of the proposed method is great.
{"title":"On-screen keyboard controlled by gaze for Vietnamese people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis","authors":"Minh Hoa Nguyen, Thi Duyen Ngo, Nguyen Ba Hung, Can Van Mao, Hai-Dang Kieu, Thanh Ha Le","doi":"10.3233/tad-220391","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/tad-220391","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND: On-screen keyboard controlled by gaze is the most useful approach to help people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) communicate. However, the design of the traditional on-screen keyboard hinders gaze typing for languages other than English. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is developing a specialized on-screen keyboard controlled by gaze for Vietnamese people with ALS. METHODS: Designed on-screen keyboard layouts and selection mechanism based on the requirements of eye typing and Vietnamese language characteristics from the statistics results on the Vietnamese Wikipedia Corpus dataset. During the experiment, we also absorbed and modified some design features according to the users’ suggestions. RESULTS: The authors proposed two new specialized on-screen keyboard layouts controlled by eye gaze for the Vietnamese language which both speed up typing and reduce typos. The results of the experiment are an average typing speed of respectively 23.1 and 26.1 characters per minute, and an average error rate of 10% and 0.5% for the two layouts. All participants were satisfied when using the system at their house. CONCLUSIONS: Although the effectiveness of the proposed method depends on the time of use and the familiarity of users with the new keyboard, the potential of the proposed method is great.","PeriodicalId":22201,"journal":{"name":"Technology and Disability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47155908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BACKGROUND: While digital technology has helped in various aspects as learning, social communication and entertainment, it poses substantial risk for young children. Amongst the various effects, excessive screen time has been identified as a risk for autism. OBJECTIVES: Against the background of increasing use of digital devices and lack of data on parental involvement, the present study aimed to investigate the parental knowledge, attitudes and concerns towards Media Technology And Screen time (MeTS) use by preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Typically Developing (TD) children in Indian context. METHODS: 182 parents of children with ASD (n= 90) and TD (n= 92) participated in a survey to answer various closed and open-ended questions related to device usage, knowledge, attitude and concerns related to children’s use of MeTS using the google forms. Responses from the survey were descriptively analyzed and compared between groups using chi-square test and qualitative thematic analysis methods. RESULTS: Results of our study revealed that children with ASD were exposed to MeTS from an earlier age, while average exposure to MeTS was significantly higher in TD children. Parents of children from the two groups showed good and comparable knowledge about the effects of MeTS and reported using various methods to monitor its use in children. Further, the parents showed concerns and possessed mixed attitude towards MeTS use in their children.
{"title":"Parental knowledge, attitudes and concerns towards media technology and screen time use in children with ASD and typically developing children","authors":"Anjitha Suresh, S. Tiwari","doi":"10.3233/tad-220389","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/tad-220389","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND: While digital technology has helped in various aspects as learning, social communication and entertainment, it poses substantial risk for young children. Amongst the various effects, excessive screen time has been identified as a risk for autism. OBJECTIVES: Against the background of increasing use of digital devices and lack of data on parental involvement, the present study aimed to investigate the parental knowledge, attitudes and concerns towards Media Technology And Screen time (MeTS) use by preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Typically Developing (TD) children in Indian context. METHODS: 182 parents of children with ASD (n= 90) and TD (n= 92) participated in a survey to answer various closed and open-ended questions related to device usage, knowledge, attitude and concerns related to children’s use of MeTS using the google forms. Responses from the survey were descriptively analyzed and compared between groups using chi-square test and qualitative thematic analysis methods. RESULTS: Results of our study revealed that children with ASD were exposed to MeTS from an earlier age, while average exposure to MeTS was significantly higher in TD children. Parents of children from the two groups showed good and comparable knowledge about the effects of MeTS and reported using various methods to monitor its use in children. Further, the parents showed concerns and possessed mixed attitude towards MeTS use in their children.","PeriodicalId":22201,"journal":{"name":"Technology and Disability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48285559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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