New research findings published on the provision of Assistive Technology
The National Disability Authority (NDA) has recently published a new research document entitled “Researchon the provision of Assistive Technology in Ireland and other countries to support independent living across the life cycle”. The document covers the research which has been carried out into the provision of Assistive Technology to people with disabilities both nationally and internationally and provides a number of recommendations on how public finances can be put to good use when providing Assistive Technology.
The needs of the elderly and people with disabilities were researched in a number of different environments including the home/community/everyday life, employment and education. The countries studied included Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Italy, the UK and Germany.
The study identified existing and progressing good practice within the field of AT and the main purpose of the study was to lead the way for further development of the provision of AT in Ireland.
The report is organised into six main chapters as follows:
- Chapter 1 introduces the area of Assistive Technologydomain and shows how the study is carried out.
- Chapter 2 provides an analysis of how important Assistive Technologyis in Ireland;
- Chapter 3 describes how Assistive Technologyis provided in Ireland within the home/community/everyday life, employment and education;
- Chapter 4 describes the policies and legislation in place in the other countries examined in the study;
- Chapter 5 examines in further detail some of the issues identified in Chapters 3 and 4 in addition to other themes examined in the different countries;
- Chapter 6 of the report concludes that a wide range of inclusively designed Assistive Technologyproducts are available which will assist in overcoming barriers and enable a wide range of people to participate independently in society. IT was also found that there is a market within the telecare and telehealth sectors in other countries that could be developed in Ireland. As a final proposal it was recommended that the NDA’s Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD) could examine how this area could be further developed in Ireland with a view to the potential for cost savings and business opportunities.
The detailed report is available by clicking here.
Alternatively, if you would like further information on the provision of Assistive Technology, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01-4151285 or [email protected]
