Measuring quality and performance of assistive technology: results of a prospective monitoring program.

Abstract

A crucial need in assistive technology delivery is follow-up to determine device performance and satisfaction from the individual with a disability's perception. As part of an overall research project on technology transfer, this investigation was designed to measure and document service delivery outcomes, first in a pilot study at the Rehabilitation Engineering Center (REC), Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford (LSPCH) with 60 consumers and then in a replication study in four other service delivery centers providing devices to 103 clients. One hundred sixty-three devices were delivered to 163 consumers by five service delivery centers. The results of this investigation indicate that user feedback can be documented through prospective and standardized data collection forms; outcome measures can be helpful in determining user satisfaction and device performance; user responses, compared with clinician evaluations, are reliable perceptions of device performance; provision of the selected assistive devices was demonstrably positive for the majority of device users; and for those individuals not initiating return visits, the phone-call follow-up provided information that would not have been available otherwise to the service providers.