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Dear Colleagues,

Globally, about 2.5 billion people need assistive technology. More than one billion of them do not have their needs met, leaving them behind in terms of participation in the family, community and society. In some countries, less than 3% have access to the assistive technology they need. To progressively achieve universal access to assistive technology in all countries, implementation of evidence-based policies and practices is required. Despite health systems being instrumental for assistive technology access, the knowledge base is limited.

We are pleased to invite you to submit manuscripts to this Special Issue. It aims at presenting research that contributes to the understanding of assistive technology access from the perspective of the health system as a whole or its components, for example, the WHO health system building blocks [1] or the WHO 5P model of assistive technology [2].

In this Special Issue original research is welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to):

Systematic reviews of health systems and assistive technology access
Cross-sectional studies of the association between health system characteristics and assistive technology access
Longitudinal studies of how health systems affect assistive technology access
Case studies of health systems and assistive technology access
Implementation studies of health system policy or practice for improving assistive technology access
Theoretical papers on health system perspectives on assistive technology access

A study on the development or evaluation of an assistive product must address access. For example, how a new design simplifies the provision and improves access by reducing required competence.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

References

[1] Figure 1 in https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/258734/9789241564052-eng.pdf

[2] Figure 1.3 in https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049451

Dr. Johan Borg
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

access
assistive product
assistive technology
health system
policy
provision
service delivery

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 719 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Technology-Enabled Senior Living: A Preliminary Report on Stakeholder Perspectives

by Vera Stara, Elvira Maranesi, Johanna Möller, Cecilia Palmier, Toshimi Ogawa, Ryan Browne, Marine Luc, Rainer Wieching, Jerome Boudy and Roberta Bevilacqua

Healthcare 2024, 12(3), 381; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12030381 - 1 Feb 2024

Viewed by 775

Abstract

Background: The integration of stakeholders is crucial in developing smart living technologies to support the autonomy of elderly populations. Despite the clear benefits of these technologies, there remains a significant gap in comprehensive research. Methods: This study presents the viewpoints of 19 stakeholders from Europe and Japan, focusing on the sustainability of smart living solutions for Active and Healthy Ageing (AHA). Data were gathered through qualitative semi-structured interviews and analysed using a Framework Analysis approach. Results: Analysis of the interviews revealed six key sustainability categories: addressing the unmet needs of older adults, functionalities of the smart living coach, integration within organizations, identified barriers, financial considerations, and the social role of the smart living coach. Conclusions: This research underscores the importance of evaluating user needs through the involvement of various stakeholders, including the elderly, their caregivers, professionals, technicians, service providers, and government bodies. Collaborative efforts are essential to generate new evidence demonstrating the value of smart living solutions in facilitating Active and Healthy Ageing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assistive Technology Access from a Health System Perspective)

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Figure 1

13 pages, 1624 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Relation between Assistive Technology System Elements and Access to Assistive Products Based on 20 Country Surveys

by Johan Borg, Mikael Winberg, Arne H. Eide, Irene Calvo, Chapal Khasnabis and Wei Zhang

Healthcare 2023, 11(9), 1313; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11091313 - 3 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1483

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between assistive technology system elements and access to assistive products. Data on assistive technology system elements and self-reported survey data on access to assistive products from 20 countries were analyzed using multivariate statistical methods, including orthogonal partial least squares analyses. Access to assistive products was primarily associated with the geographic coverage of assistive technology services in a country, followed by system elements related to policy and personnel. To achieve universal access to assistive technology, geographic coverage of assistive technology services is an instrumental system element. However, it requires the implementation of appropriate policies along with sufficient funding, recruitment of adequately trained personnel, and availability of assistive products in need. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assistive Technology Access from a Health System Perspective)

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