OBJECTIVE To translate and validate the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST 2.0) into Brazilian Portuguese. METHODS Certified translators translated and back-translated Quest. Content validity (CVI) was determined by 5 experts and, after the final version of B-Quest, a pre-test was applied to users of manual wheelchairs, walkers and crutches. The psychometr...

The objective of this article is to describe independent life expectancy (ILE) in New Zealand in 1996-97, including variations in this indicator between age, gender and ethnic groups. ILE is defined as the number of years a person can expect to live without any self-reported functional limitation requiring the assistance of another person or a complex assistive device. ILE is a positive measure...

We studied prospectively the change over ten years in mortality, walking ability and place of residence after a hip fracture in 753 patients in Japan. We compared the deaths observed in these patients with those expected in the general population, matched for age, gender and calender year at the time of fracture. The survival rate decreased dramatically for two years after the event and the mor...

At present, it is recognized that the Internet plays key role in universalization of opportunities in society in which we live. For people with disabilities, the content must be accessible in all websites, but the assistive technologies used must be adequate to the specific needs of people with disabilities. Dosvox is a free system developed in the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) ...

BACKGROUND there has been a rise in the use of social media applications that allow people to see where friends, family and nearby services are located. Yet while uptake has been high for younger people, adoption by older adults is relatively slow, despite the potential health and social benefits. In this paper, we explore the barriers to acceptance of location-based services (LBS) in a communi...

The purposes of this study were to identify the factors that underlie assistive technology (AT) and to validate items to be used in an instrument to evaluate AT use. The study consisted of four phases. First, 99 items were developed though a comprehensive literature review. Second, the items were refined through three layers of review. Third, 1,467 respondents rated the results of the reviews. ...

PURPOSE The aim of this paper is to highlight the contributions that complementary efficacy, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness studies can make to assessing the outcomes of assistive technology interventions for enhancing mobility. METHOD The terms, 'assistive technology outcomes research' and 'assistive technology interventions', are defined. Several bases are examined for the shortage o...

An assistive device is designed to accommodate the special needs of disability that can help people with physical, mental or cognitive challenges go through their day-to-day activities with less difficulty. An assistive device usually provide alternatives to functional limitations imposed by the client's disorder, and thereby minimising rehabilitation costs. It is therefore important to know ab...

PURPOSE We are concerned with aiding the mobility of visually impaired travellers around often complex and unfamiliar internal and urban environments. To do this we focus on a users interaction with ambient devices because these device types provide an easy entry point for visually impaired individuals to interact with their surroundings. By augmenting the physical environment with mobility foc...

This study examined the psychometric properties of test presentation and response formats that were modified to be accessible with the use of assistive technology (AT). First, the stability of psychometric properties was examined in 60 children, ages 6 to 12, with no significant physical or communicative impairments. Population-specific differences were then examined with samples that included ...