WORKSHOP: Summit on New Strategies for Measuring Assistive Technology Outcomes

Rehabilitation Engineering And Assistive Tech Society Of Na, Arlington VA

Investigators

Abstract

Today, over 56 million people in the United States report some degree of disability, a number which will likely grow in coming years as the so-called "baby boomer" generation ages. Yet measuring the outcomes of interventions for persons with disabilities has challenged the disability and rehabilitation research community for decades. Because of the extreme variability and unique circumstances of each individual, the gold standard of randomized control trials (RCT) becomes infeasible when trying to measure the true effects of using assistive technologies (AT). This leaves the research community and those who rely on evidence of the efficacy of interventions (e.g., funding agencies and insurance companies) in a quandary. This is funding to support a Summit (workshop) on New Strategies for Measuring Assistive Technology Outcomes, which will take place as part of and immediately following the 2016 annual RESNA conference to be held July 10-14 at the Hyatt Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. RESNA, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America, is the one organization with an international focus that is devoted solely to technology for individuals with disabilities. RESNA's membership consists of individuals and institutions covering a range of disciplines (including researchers, clinicians, suppliers, manufacturers, consumers and educators who work in both non-profit and for-profit settings), all of whom are dedicated to promoting the exchange of ideas and information for the advancement of assistive technology. More information about RESNA and its annual conference is available online at http://www.resna.org. The PI plans to leverage the fact that the upcoming RESNA conference will bring together national organizations and professionals with expertise related to assistive technology research and services, to organize a Summit on this critical topic at much less cost than would otherwise be required. With this in mind, the conference organizers have woven an AT outcomes theme (consisting of a full day course, plenary and platform sessions, workshops, etc.) throughout the conference program, which will provide a backdrop and foundation for a full day of advanced discussions on ways to improve measurement of AT outcomes immediately following the end of the conference. The consensus building and documentation of new methodologies resulting from the Summit will contribute key steps in transforming evidence based practice and its acceptance in new methodologies for outcomes data collection, analysis, and decision making. The full-day invitational Summit at the end of the conference will aggregate current scientific thinking to lay the foundation for a transformative shift in rationale toward a new assessment methodology, to delineate steps that are required to create a new evidence based practice schema, and to begin sketching the key framework of variables required for such a new methodology. Summit outcomes will include a report that will: 1) Summarize the state of the science of AT outcomes research. 2) Summarize the state of the science of AT outcomes research methodologies. 3) Delineate the current issues that restrain the current state of the science. 4) Generate actionable ideas for new AT outcomes research methods. 5) Articulate specific AT outcomes approaches for consideration by research and funding agencies. It is anticipated that these future methodologies will require broad data collection from practitioners, consumers, and assistive technology distributors throughout their practices, and that these data from varied sources will need to be aggregated into a central database for inquiries and analysis.