scholarly journals CODEA: A FRAMEWORK FOR CO-DESIGNING ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES WITH OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS, INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS, AND END-USERS WITH MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1843-1852 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Aflatoony ◽  
S. J. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Older Adult ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
End Users ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Design Framework ◽  
Mobility Impairment ◽  
Mobility Impairments ◽  
User Collaboration ◽  
Do It Yourself ◽  
Industrial Designers

AbstractThere are currently limited guidelines on how to design complex assistive technologies (ATs), which necessitates expertise beyond that possessed by designers, occupational therapists (OTs), or end-users. To address this issue, we conducted a series of four participatory workshops to study various configurations of OT-designer-user collaboration in co-designing do-it-yourself (DIY) ATs for an older adult with mobility impairment. We then proposed a specific co-design framework for such OT-designer-user collaboration.

Health Outcomes Used to Determine Facets of Health-related Quality of Life for Post-9/11 Veterans Using Assistive Technology for A Combat-related Mobility Impairment: A Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Greenhalgh ◽  
Hailee Kulich ◽  
Eline Blaauw ◽  
Rose Turner ◽  
Sara Peterson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Mobility Impairment ◽  
Health States ◽  
Mobility Impairments ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related

ABSTRACT Introduction Novel rehabilitation methods, including distribution and adoption of assistive technology for lower extremity impairments, are becoming crucial to ensure positive quality of life in all individuals. The quality of life of post-9/11 combat veterans is not well understood, in comparison to research on other populations. The following essay describes a review on health outcomes used to determine health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) among combat-injured service members who require mobility-related assistive technology. Materials and Methods Reviews pooled data from research on PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO published after September 11, 2001, and included service members who sustained a mobility impairment because of involvement in a post-9/11 combat operation. Basic descriptors were extracted in addition to health outcomes used, which were then categorized and summarized by six domains for HR-QoL as defined by the World Health Organization. Results This review found health outcomes that fit in the pain and discomfort, negative emotions, mobility, social relations, access to and quality of healthcare services, and religious/spiritual/personal beliefs subdomains. The categorized results detailed their application to track and model HR-QoL health states in those with mobility impairments using mobility-based assistive technology. Conclusions The research on combat-induced mobility impairments indicates assistive technology improves otherwise poor health states. The results model these domains and subdomains to determine overall HR-QoL and the quality of a healthcare intervention, though additional research is needed as only one study was identified to be experimental in design.

Developing Assistive Technologies for Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease and Their Carers

2019 ◽  
pp. 203-220
Author(s):  
Diane Feeney Mahoney
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Home Monitoring ◽  
End Users ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Ethical Foundation ◽  
Neurocognitive Impairments ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Care Problems

This chapter examines the ethical principles applicable to gerontechnology research and development for in-home monitoring of persons with neurocognitive impairments. Principles addressed include respect for persons, autonomy, beneficence, justice, nonabandonment, nonmalfeasance, and privacy. Key issues for designers, developers, end-users, and reviewers are highlighted by uniquely drawing from real-world research examples. Studies indicate that among stakeholders there remains an emotional tension between “high tech” and “high touch” interventions for older adults with dementia. At the extremes, technophobic humanists dismiss technology as universally inferior to human assistance, while techno-proponents view it as the solution to care problems resulting from human limitations. “Benevolent” geriatric protectionism from technology is paternalistic and stifles innovation, while pushing technology without input from geriatric end-users results in products mismatched to their needs. Society will be better served if both viewpoints thoughtfully consider the ethical foundation of their beliefs informed by research findings to foster approaches that do good, not harm.

scholarly journals PREFRONTAL CORTICAL ACTIVITY DIFFERENCES WHILE DUAL-TASK WALKING IN OLDER ADULTS WITH IMPAIRED MOBILITY

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S793-S794
Author(s):  
Manuel E Hernandez
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Mobility Impairment ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Mobility Impairments ◽  
Prefrontal Cortical ◽  
Walking Difficulty

Abstract Mobility impairments are prevalent in older adults. Whereas walking had traditionally been viewed as an autonomous process, evidence over the last decade has shown that cognitive processes such as attention and executive function have a significant impact on gait function in older adults. However, the exact neural mechanisms underlying difficulties in the control of mobility in older adults remains an open question. We examine the changes in the executive control of mobility in older adults with mobility impairments using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, as operationalized by performance in the community balance and mobility scale (CB&M). We hypothesized that prefrontal cortical (PFC) activity increases would be higher in older adults with mobility impairments, compared with older adults without mobility impairment, as dual-task walking difficulty increased. Older adults with (n=10, mean±SD age: 77±8 years, 8 females, CB&M= 58±12) and without mobility impairment (n=14, mean±SD age: 63±9 years, 11 females, CB&M= 87±6) were recruited from the local community. Dual-task walking was performed at a comfortable pace, while the difficulty of the concurrent cognitive task was increased using the modified Stroop test. PFC activity was measured using measures of oxygenated hemoglobin across the PFC. Older adults with mobility impairments demonstrated disproportionate increases in PFC activity, in comparison to those without mobility impairments, as the difficulty of the concurrent cognitive task increased (P<.001), even after controlling for age. In conclusion, these data suggest that older adults with mobility impairments may require greater attentional resources than those without mobility impairments when concurrently performing thinking and walking tasks.

Virtual Collaborative Design

2011 ◽  
pp. 482-486
Author(s):  
Aybüke Aurum ◽  
Oya Demirbilek
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Product Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
End Users ◽  
Domestic Product ◽  
End User ◽  
Essential Aspect ◽  
Industrial Designers ◽  
The Right

As we enter the third millennium, many organizations are forced to constantly pursue new strategies to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Examples include offering customers streams of new products and services, as well as continuously seeking to improve productivity, services and the effectiveness of product design, development and manufacturing processes. Consequently, new concepts, approaches and tools are emerging quickly as the globalization trend expands across the world. Product complexity, pressures to reduce production cycle time, the need for stakeholders’ contributions and multinational company as well as consumer requirements create the demand for sophisticated multi-designer collaborative virtual environments where product design can be shared and acted upon (Kunz, Christiansen, Cohen, Jin, & Levitt, 1998; Ragusa & Bochanek, 2001; Anderson, Esser & Interrante, 2003). Thus, researchers and practitioners recognize that collaboration is an essential aspect of contemporary, professional product design and development activities. The design process is collaborative by nature. Collaborative design fosters participation of stakeholders in any form during the design process. The design of a successful product is dependent on integrating information and experiences from a number of different knowledge domains. These domains include consumer (end-user) requirements, industrial designers’ professional design skills as well as manufacturers’ needs. This results in a product that performs at a functional as well as aesthetic level and that can be manufactured by the right process at the right price. End-user involvement is essential to product design, since products that do not achieve consumer satisfaction or meet consumer needs are doomed to fail (Schultz, 2001). Accurate understanding of user needs is an essential aspect in developing commercially successful products (Achilladelis, 1971). Hence, it is very important for industrial designers to gather the end-users’ needs and incorporate them into their designs. The involvement of manufacturers in the initial stages of the domestic product design process can lead to a dramatic reduction in a product’s development lifecycle time, also facilitating the coordination of the purchasing and engineering functions (Bochanek & Ragusa, 2001; Demirbilek, 2001). The increasing complexity of artifacts and the globalization of product development are changing research methodologies and techniques. A prime example of this includes the application of a virtual collaborative design environment (VCDE) for product design and manufacturing. This article focuses on the concept of virtual collaborative design. It describes a research effort to investigate cross-cultural collaboration in product development using online applications for domestic product design. The aim of this research is to investigate issues related to the virtual collaborative design (VCD) process, and to bring an understanding of stakeholder needs during the collaborative design process as well as to improve the relationships between end-users, designers and manufacturers. The article presents findings based on a survey study conducted with four different potential stakeholders: representatives of consumers, software designers, industrial designers and manufacturers.

scholarly journals Developing Content for the Food Environment Assessment Survey Tool (FEAST): A Systematic Mixed Methods Study with People with Disabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (21) ◽  
pp. 7781
Author(s):  
Rebecca E. Lee ◽  
Alicia O’Neal ◽  
Chelsea Cameron ◽  
Rosemary B. Hughes ◽  
Daniel P. O’Connor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nominal Group Technique ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Nominal Group ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Mobility Impairment ◽  
Survey Tool ◽  
Mobility Impairments ◽  
Delivery Services ◽  
Ecologic Model

Almost 1 in every 8 adults in the U.S. have a physical disability that impairs mobility. This participatory project aimed to identify and describe environmental and personal barriers to healthy eating among people with mobility impairments using a rigorous, structured mixed methodology. Community-dwelling adults with a self-reported mobility impairment (N = 20, M = 40.4 years old, 60% female) participated in nominal group technique focus groups. The Ecologic Model of Obesity grounded stimulus questions asked about barriers to obtaining and preparing healthy food. Participants emphasized common barriers across everyday settings—focusing, for example, on the ability to reach shelved food inside the home, navigating to and inside stores and restaurants, and using delivery services. Home environments often did not afford suitable spaces for food preparation and storage. Participants reported inadequate transportation and numerous additional barriers in many settings to be able to eat healthfully. Participants reported lack of accessible transportation and architectural barriers inside stores, restaurants, and their own homes, highlighting the need for efforts aimed at improving accessibility and usability. Findings support the use of the Ecologic Model of Obesity to guide research and suggest the need for improvement in assessment practices and policies that enhance access to healthy food.

scholarly journals Acceptance of televideo technology by adults aging with a mobility impairment for health and wellness interventions

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 205566831769275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy L Mitzner ◽  
Rachel Stuck ◽  
Jordan Q Hartley ◽  
Jenay M Beer ◽  
Wendy A Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Healthcare Provider ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Health And Wellness ◽  
Mobility Impairment ◽  
Mobility Impairments ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Being There

Televideo technology (e.g., Skype) has potential to support adults as they age by facilitating their interactions with people remotely; this potential may be even greater for adults aging with pre-existing mobility impairments, who face challenges interacting with others in person due to lack of transportation or accessibility. Our research employed questionnaire and interview methodologies to investigate this understudied population about their attitudes toward televideo technology for supporting social engagement, healthcare provider access, and physical activity. Participants were 14 adults aging with self-reported mobility impairments (50–70 years of age). Overall, participants were open to accepting televideo technology for social engagement, healthcare provider access, and physical activity. Participants perceived these technologies to be useful and perceived additional benefits, including the feeling of “being there” by enabling the viewing of facial expressions and the environment of the other person. Concerns included perceptions that televideo technologies lack security and privacy. Participants also expressed concerns that these technologies are difficult to use and are difficult to learn to use. The findings have implications for education, training, and deployment of televideo technology for home-based interventions for adults aging with pre-existing mobility impairments.

The Use of Computer Technology with Older Adult Clients: A Pilot Study of Occupational Therapists

2001 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacey E. Ackerman ◽  
Kristen R. Bednarczyk ◽  
Kristin Roncolato ◽  
Brandi A. Schiavone ◽  
Amy L. Witko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Computer Technology ◽  
Occupational Therapists

Telepresence Heuristic Evaluation for Adults Aging with Mobility Impairment

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-20
Author(s):  
Xian Wu1 ◽  
Rebecca C. Thomas ◽  
Emma C. Drobina ◽  
Tracy L. Mitzner ◽  
Jenay M. Beer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Aging In Place ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Heuristic Evaluation ◽  
Design Issues ◽  
Mobility Impairment ◽  
Mobility Impairments ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Privacy Settings ◽  
Screen Height

Mobility is a key component for older adults to maintain wellness and health while aging-in-place independently. However, older adults with mobility impairments may experience challenges in remaining socially connected. Telepresence systems hold much potential to help older adults with mobility impairments. However, telepresence systems are not specifically designed with this population’s capabilities and limitations in mind – creating many potential usability barriers. We conducted a heuristic evaluation of three telepresence systems. The results of the evaluation indicated a range of design issues. Issues related to the base height, un-adjustable screen height, camera resolution, microphone/speaker quality, and sensor sensitivity were categorized as hardware problems. Usability issues caused by poor network connectivity, lack of privacy settings, lack of notifications of the system status, and limited control of the system were identified as software problems. It is critical that designers consider and address these findings to ensure that telepresence systems are usable by individuals with a wide range of abilities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document