Assistive Technology Provision by Occupational Therapists : A Process and Tools for Managing Clients with Spinal Cord Injury
Occupational therapy focuses on complex dynamic relationships between people, occupations and environments. For clients with spinal cord injuries (SCI), a way of improving the connection between these three aspects is by providing assistive technology (AT). A fundamental issue identified by consumer...
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| Format: | Others |
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NSUWorks
2016
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| Online Access: | https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_ot_student_dissertations/57 https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1056&context=hpd_ot_student_dissertations |
| Summary: | Occupational therapy focuses on complex dynamic relationships between people, occupations and environments. For clients with spinal cord injuries (SCI), a way of improving the connection between these three aspects is by providing assistive technology (AT). A fundamental issue identified by consumers regarding AT provision was abandonment, which is caused by a mismatch between aspects of the person, the assistive product, and characteristics of the environment. One solution is engaging collaboratively with clients and recognizing individual needs, thereby allowing therapists to meet clients’ occupational expectations and provide clients with increased functional independence. During this capstone project, barriers to AT provision were identified through an extensive review of the literature, an online survey sent to 82 therapists, and a 90-hour residency with AT specialists. Respondents reported a need for further education on AT, that confidence with high-tech AT was lower than with low-tech AT, and a need for a simplified AT resource tool. This resulted in creation of an educational resource AT tool, in website format, called the Assistive Technology Prescription Tool for Occupational therapists (ATPT-OT). The ATPT-OT is a tool designed to enhance occupational therapists’ ability to identify and recommend AT for individuals with SCI during the prescription process. |
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