ABSTRACT
Purpose: To understand the assistive product (AP) related needs, unmet needs, demands and barriers of older adults (OA) this study addresses older adults in Tompkins County, NY.Methods: This quantitative cross-sectional descriptive research study used the World Health Organization's rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA). A convenience sample of adults 65 or older in Tompkins County, NY. were surveyed to understand their need for AP, access to it and satisfaction with it.Results: The mean age of the 102 respondents was 73 (SD=6.91). Ninety-five % of participants reported currently using an AP. The findings reveal that while OA are using AP in their everyday lives, barriers to getting the AP that they need remain. While 49% of participants had difficulty with their cognition, the use of AP for cognitive support was only reported by 10 % of the participants. Additionally, there are many different types of AP being used by older adults. These products not only assist users with impairments included on the survey such as hearing, vision, mobility, etc. but with other concerns such as comfort, safety, and injury prevention. One limitation of our study was that we utilized a convenience snowball method to recruit participants in a local area and thus the findings cannot be generalized beyond the study.Conclusion: OA identify both the need for AP that they do not have and a variety of barriers including lack of knowledge and funding for AP that interferes with their obtaining it. Ongoing research is needed to further understand the AT related needs of this growing population as there are many different areas in rehabilitation where work is needed to increase access to AP.
Increasing awareness of options, improving funding, designing assistive products (APs) that are safe, and destigmatising the need for APs for older adults (OAs) are critical for those who work in rehabilitation.Continuing research that describes and documents the changing assistive technology needs of the OA population is critical as this group continues to grow and change.In this study, more OAs reported having cognitive disabilities than other impairments. Increasing access to APs for this group is important.