A Preliminary Study on Health Condition, Needs, and Usage of Assistive Technology for Occupational Accident Labors with Physical Disabilities: Using Manufacturing and Construction Industries as Examples

• Main Authors: Shao-Yi Yen, 顏紹伊
• Other Authors: Shwn-Jen Lee
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/3frvg4

碩士 === 國立陽明大學 === 物理治療暨輔助科技學系 === 104 === Background and Objective: The health conditions of occupational accident (OA) labors involve functional status, level of disability, environmental and personal factors, which were also the primary factors that relate to return to work for injured labors. The provision of product and assistive technology (AT), which belongs to the environmental factors in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework, is one of the legal compensation funding mechanisms for OA labors in Taiwan. However, the percentage of the AT application cases was less than 0.2% of the labor insurance subsidy cases each year according to the statistics. Furthermore, there was limited research on the topic regarding the health conditions, needs, and usages of AT in OA labors. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate the health conditions, needs, and usage of AT and the related factors of the needs and usage of AT in OA labors with physical disabilities (PD). Methods: A cross-sectional and exploratory study. Inclusion criteria: OA labors with PD in manufacturing or construction industries, and the disabilities affect participant’s activity of daily living or work. Demographic data and the usage of AT were collected through a self-administering questionnaire. The information of activity and participation, and environmental factors were collected through the ICF framework. The needs of AT were comprehensively determined from “Criteria of Assistive Technology Needs”. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the health conditions, needs and usage of AT, and the related factors to the usage of AT. Fisher’s exact test was conducted to analyze the related factors of the needs of AT. Results: Thirty participants (29 males, 1 female) aged from 27 to 62 years (45.9 ± 10.8 years) were recruited in this study. Eleven subjects from the manufacturing industry and nineteen subjects from the construction industry. Nineteen subjects were employed and eleven subjects were unemployed. Participants with the years of injury less than 5 years were 63.3%, and 36.7% of them were above 5 years. Twenty-eight subjects got injured due to occupational injury, and two subjects got injured due to occupational disease. According to the ICF framework, more than 50% of participants with PD showed moderate to complete difficulty in mobility (d4), self-care (d5), domestic life (d6), and major life areas (d8). AT and personal assistance were improved the performance of activities and participation effectively. The needs of AT corresponding with participant’s capacity and participation were assistive products for personal care and protection, assistive products for personal mobility, furnishings and adaptations to homes and other premises, and assistive products for handling objects and devices; however, the assistive products that participants use the most often were assistive products for personal care and protection, assistive products for personal mobility, and assistive products for personal medical treatment. The significant related factors to the needs of AT were the level of disability (p=0.000) and the primary injury location (p＜0.05). This study showed that the related factors to the usage of AT were personal assistance, lack of information, insufficient subsidy, and the cost of AT. Conclusion: This study provides a broad overview of the health conditions, needs, and usage of AT, and the related factors of the needs and usage of AT in OA labors with PD. The occupational-related departments and professionals should pay more attention to the differences between the needs and the usage of AT in OA labors with PD. The finding of this study provide some applicability information about AT for OA labors with PD, which further improves the quality of the AT services.