Network analysis of assistive technology stakeholders in Malawi

ABSTRACT

Background

Assistive technologies promote participation and quality of life for people with disabilities and other functional limitations. There is a global call to develop and implement policies to improve access to assistive technologies. In response, a stakeholder led initiative in Malawi is working towards the development of such a policy.

Objective

The objective of this study was to assess the existing network of stakeholders, and the strength of relationship between organizations who deliver assistive products and related services.

Method

We conducted a survey-based network analysis of assistive technology stakeholder organizations in Malawi.

Results

Stakeholders (n = 19) reported a range of connections, from no awareness to collaboration with organizations within the assistive technology network. No single organization or government ministry was most central to the network. International NGOs were less central to the network than local organizations for disabled people, service providers, and ministries.

Conclusion

The assistive technology stakeholder network in Malawi is distributed, with a range of responsibility across a variety of stakeholders, including three government ministries. An effective assistive technology policy must engage all stakeholders and may benefit from a collective leadership approach that spans the inter-sectoral need for a cohesive assistive technology system.

KEYWORDS:

• Self-help devices
• low and middle income countries
• assistive products
• health policy
• policy development

Responsible Editor

Julia Schrders

Responsible Editor

Julia Schrders

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of the APPLICABLE Project Action Research Group.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval for the APPLICABLE Study has been granted by the Maynooth University Social Research Ethics Committee.

Authors’ contributions

EMS led the research design, data collection, analysis and manuscript preparation. IDE contributed to research design, analysis, and manuscript review. JAK contributed to data collection, analysis, and manuscript review. MJP contributed to analysis and manuscript review. AM contributed to research design, analysis, manuscript review, and supervision. MM contributed to research design, analysis, manuscript review, and supervision. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Paper context

The landscape of assistive technology provision in Malawi has been explored in previous work, however has not identified the nature and strength between key stakeholders. In this research, we identified the relationships between these stakeholders to better understand the centrality of certain organizations. Understanding the nature and strengths of relationships allows the identification of organizations who can play a critical role in developing and implementing assistive technology policy.

Additional information

Funding

The APPLICABLE project (IDE, JK, MJP, AM) is funded by the Irish Research Council through grant COALESCE/2019/114. EMS receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship and Assistive Technology 2030, funded by UK AID and led by GDI Hub.