Understanding the possibilities and limitations of assistive technology in health and welfare services for people with intellectual disabilities, staff perspectives

Abstract

Purpose

Little is known regarding what assistive technology (AT) exists and how it is used in welfare services for people with intellectual disabilities (ID). This study aimed to explore healthcare staff's perspectives and insights regarding AT in daily support and welfare services for people with ID. We also sought to explore the associations between the use of AT and workplace-related factors and background characteristics (e.g., gender, age, and experience).

Materials and methods

Three focus group discussions were conducted with 11 informants (8 women, 3 men) working in home-based and day services. Also, 176 healthcare staff (43 men, 133 women) who worked in municipal home-based services and day services completed a questionnaire comprised of background questions and 14 items with a five-point answer scale.

Results

Number of years using AT was positively associated with a positive attitude and use of AT among the staff. Staff were mainly positive towards AT and believed that it could represent various possibilities in the everyday lives of people with ID and their own service delivery. However, the staff expressed uncertainties and ethical concerns regarding AT, and they experienced a lack of knowledge, focus, and awareness about technology in services for this group. The quantitative results mainly showed positive associations between believing in AT's usefulness and using it in services for people with ID.

Conclusions

The findings indicate that providing equipment and resources, personal interests, and staff attitudes are essential factors in successfully implementing AT for people with ID.

Implications for rehabilitation

• Healthcare staff have a positive attitude towards using AT for people with intellectual disabilities, but they also perceive uncertainty and ethical concerns.

• The staff believe that there is a broad range of AT devices and systems available that can support the independence and participation of people with intellectual disabilities.

• The staff need to receive more training and technical supports from their workplace and AT-related experience is associated positively with the use of assistive technology by the staff.

Keywords:

• Intellectual disability
• employment
• technology
• welfare technology

Ethical approval

All participants received written and oral information about the study, and that they could withdraw from the study at any time, and the data will be handled confidentially. Written consent was collected before participation, and the study was approved by the Norwegian Centre for Research Data.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the participants for their valuable contributions. This study was funded by the Department of Mental Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Disclosure statement

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

Author contributions

LK and AEW designed the study. LK, VSH, MR and ALW performed and analysed the interviews. OR collected the data, performed the analyses and wrote the original draft. LK, VSH, MR and ALW read and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was internally funded by the Department of Mental Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.