Efficiency of Assistive Technology and Services

Workpackage WP03 of the EATS project developed two new measures of effectiveness and utility of assistive technology, respectively 1) the IPPA (Individually Prioritised Problems Assessment), intended to describe the outcomes generated by the provision of AT&S (Assistive Technology and Services) in terms of solution to pre-identified problems and 2) EATS 6-D (EATS 6 dimensions), intended to describe changes in the impact of disability on daily life, resulting from the adoption of such AT&S. In workpackage WP04 these instruments are tested within the framework of service delivery in four countries. This document describes the plan and procedures for the testing phase. The instruments will be tested for their feasibility within different settings of service delivery, and for basic aspects of reliability and validity. In four countries, a number of about 300 clients who apply for an assistive device as a consequence of problems in a few selected areas, will be interviewed by an independent interviewer twice: once early in the service delivery process and a second time after about three months of actual use of the device. At these assessments both the IPPA and the EATS-6D will be administered, together with the SIP68 and a set of questions about actual use of and satisfaction with the assistive device for validation purposes. Also, a close family member and a professional involved will be asked to judge the effects of the device. Test-retest reliability and inter-assessor reliability will be evaluated in a separate smaller study in 60 clients. In this study clients who have been using an assistive device for a while and who are in a stable physical condition, will be interviewed twice as well, in 30 clients by the same interviewer and in 30 by different interviewers.