CITIC, TALIONIS Research Group, Universidade da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain.
AGAELA (Galician Association of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), 15670 A Coruña, Spain.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 16;18(6):3039. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18063039.
Assistive Technology (AT) refers to "assistive products and related systems and services developed for people to maintain or improve functioning and thereby to promote well-being". Improving the process of design and creation of assistive products is an important step towards strengthening AT provision.
(1) to present a framework for designing and creating Low-Cost AT; (2) to display the preliminary results and evidence derived from applying the framework.
First, an evidence-based process was applied to develop and conceptualize the framework. Then, a pilot project to validate the framework was carried out. The sample was formed by 11 people with disabilities. The measure instruments were specific questionnaire, several forms of the Matching Person-Technology model, the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Device Scale, and a tool to assess the usability and universal design of AT.
The framework integrates three phases: Identification (Design), Creation (Making the prototype), and Implementation (Outcome Measures), based on the principles of Design Thinking, and with a user-centered perspective. The preliminary results showed the coherence of the entire process and its applicability. The matching between person and device was high, representing the importance of involving the user in the design and selection of AT.
The framework is a guide for professionals and users to apply a Low-Cost and Do-It-Yourself perspective to the provision of AT. It highlights the importance of monitoring the entire procedure and measuring the effects, by applying the outcome measures.
辅助技术 (AT) 是指“为帮助人们维持或改善功能，从而促进福祉而开发的辅助产品及相关系统和服务”。改进辅助产品的设计和创造过程是加强辅助技术供应的重要步骤。
(1) 提出设计和创造低成本辅助技术的框架；(2) 展示应用该框架得出的初步结果和证据。
首先，应用循证过程来开发和概念化框架。然后，进行了一个验证框架的试点项目。样本由 11 名残疾人组成。测量工具包括特定的问卷、几种形式的匹配人与技术模型、辅助设备心理社会影响量表以及评估辅助技术可用性和通用设计的工具。
该框架整合了三个阶段：基于设计思维原理和以用户为中心的观点，基于识别 (设计)、创造 (制作原型) 和实施 (结果测量) 的原则。初步结果表明整个过程的一致性及其适用性。人与设备的匹配度很高，这代表了让用户参与辅助技术的设计和选择的重要性。
该框架为专业人员和用户提供了一个低成本和自己动手的视角，以提供辅助技术。它强调了通过应用结果测量来监测整个程序并衡量效果的重要性。
