An indicators framework to evaluate assistive technology impacts on society in emerging countries

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Health Services Research
• Disability Studies

Background:

• Globally, 1.3 billion people live with disabilities, facing barriers to societal participation.
• Assistive Technology (AT) is crucial for enhancing autonomy and reducing inequalities for individuals with disabilities.
• Evaluating the societal impact of AT is complex, especially in diverse socioeconomic settings like emerging economies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a framework with indicators for measuring and evaluating the societal impacts of AT development and dissemination in emerging countries.
• To address the challenge of assessing AT's real-world impact in heterogeneous socioeconomic contexts.
• To provide a structured approach for understanding AT's broader societal contributions.

Main Methods:

• A Systematic Literature Review identified 14 impact dimensions and 40 indicators for AT's societal impacts.
• A Fuzzy Delphi process, involving 15 AT experts and 15 AT users, refined the indicators to 28.
• Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) was preliminarily applied to integrate user-derived priorities.

Main Results:

• The developed framework incorporates user prioritization, moving beyond purely functional metrics.
• It includes psychosocial and quality-of-life dimensions in the evaluation of AT.
• A refined set of 28 indicators was established through expert and user evaluation.

Conclusions:

• The framework supports informed decision-making for AT developers, managers, policymakers, and stakeholders.
• It emphasizes the critical need to integrate users' lived experiences into AT evaluation and development.
• This approach enhances the assessment of AT's societal impact, particularly in emerging economies.