Center for Inclusive Policy, Washington, DC 20005, USA.
Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne 3800, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov 16;18(22):12031. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182212031.
The COVID-19 pandemic imposed significant challenges to users of assistive technology (AT). Three key issues emerged from a series of structured qualitative interviews with 35 AT users in six low- and middle-income countries. These were (1) access to information about COVID-19 and available supports and policies, (2) insufficiency of the government response to meet the needs of AT users, and (3) the response of civil society which partially offset the gap in government response. AT users noted the need for better communication, improved planning for the delivery and maintenance of AT during times of crisis, and higher-quality standards to ensure the availability of appropriate technology.
新冠疫情对辅助技术（AT）使用者带来了巨大挑战。通过对六个中低收入国家的 35 名 AT 使用者进行一系列结构化的定性访谈，出现了三个关键问题。这些问题是：（1）获取有关 COVID-19 以及可用支持和政策的信息；（2）政府应对措施不足以满足 AT 用户的需求；（3）民间社会的回应部分弥补了政府应对措施的不足。AT 用户指出需要更好的沟通、在危机时期更好地规划 AT 的交付和维护、以及更高的质量标准以确保提供合适的技术。
