Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3.2 Measuring the Assistive Technology Match
The Matching Person and Technology (MPT) model is the most published model that is
specific to ATA. The MPT model (Scherer 1998) argues that the characteristics of the per-
son, environment, and technology should be considered as interacting when selecting the
most appropriate AT for a particular person's use.
3.2.1 The ICF and Other Outcome Measures
The WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) offers a
model to guide and integrate the complex aspects of assessment for AT: the biopsychoso-
cial model, to which the MPT model refers. The ICF conceives of “disability” as the product
of the interaction between the individual's characteristics and those of the physical and
social environment. The disability is now defined as a “variation” of human functioning
along three dimensions: impairments (the organic or psychological deficit), limitations in
activity, and restrictions in participation. In particular, the ICF does not classify people,
but it describes situations of each person in terms of “health domains and domains associ-
ated with it
(such as education and work).” For the first time, the WHO model of disability
takes into account environmental factors, classifying them systematically, allowing the
correlation between health and environment and coming to the definition of disability as
a health condition in an adverse environment.
Information obtainable by ICF is useful not
only to study disability, but also to identify appropriate interventions. For example, if the
problem is an impairment, assistance will focus on the individual; if the problem is related
to a restriction of participation because of discrimination, then the intervention will be
directed to the elimination of social and/or environmental barriers, changing barriers in
the environment and also providing facilitators, so as to improve performance in everyday
life.
Although the ICF was not specifically developed to guide ATA, the literature shows that
it lends itself as a descriptive model for the ATA process. ICF captures the complex aspects
of the impact of AT and it can assist the professional in decision making (Bernd et al.
2009). Assessment processes based on the ICF will assist professionals in understanding
the intended individual's need, facilitate collaboration across agencies, and prioritize goals
for intervention. WHO defines AT as any device or system that enables a person to per-
form a task that would otherwise be too difficult to execute and that facilitates a task being
performed (WHO 2004). AT includes both devices and services. AT services are defined as
a service that supports ATA, acquisition, and device use (Bausch and Ault 2008).
Furthermore, the ICF components are well integrated in combination with some assess-
ment instruments, such as the ICF Checklist mentioned earlier. It is compatible with
the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), the Individually Prioritised
Problem Assessment (IPPA), and the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) (Karlsson 2010). The
ICF Checklist is a practical tool to elicit and record information on the functioning and
disability of an individual: It elicits what capabilities and limitations the user's experience
in activities and participation-related domains. It has a list of mental functions, including
sensory function and pain, voice and speech functions, respiratory system, etc. The check-
list assists the service provider in knowing if more specific functional assessment will be
required. The COPM was developed to capture the client's individual occupational perfor-
mance; it is not specific to AT, but it looks at the needs of the AT user from a client-centered
