Barriers and Facilitators to Uptake of Assistive Technologies: Summary of a Literature Exploration

This paper aims to highlight some of the issues that arise with the uptake of assistive technology as found in the literature across four different domains: Telehealth; Telecare; Augmentative and Alternative Communication; and Education. The authors were not looking so much at service delivery models as user centred experiences and key words that were used to describe outcomes. The results showed remarkable similarities in the concerns of patients, families, users and other stakeholders. However, different terminologies across the fields highlighted the gulf between the fields, with professional 'silo-ing' of expertise occurring. There is a necessity for increased collaboration that could allow for knowledge sharing and enhanced assessment, uptake and continued use of assistive technologies for all potential users.