Two decades of assistive technologies to empower people with disability: a systematic mapping study

Abstract

Purpose

Information and Communication Technologies have transformed our lives in different social areas, facilitating interpersonal relationships thanks to technological tools. In the specific case of people with disabilities, Assistive Technologies (ATs) break down barriers and increase opportunities to become active members of society with equal opportunities.

Materials and methods

This paper presents a systematic mapping study that analyzes the current state-of-the-art of ATs proposed in the literature to support the empowering of people with disability. Specifically, this paper focuses on (1) describing a global vision of the scientific literature published in the last 20 years about ATs in the computer science field and (2) identifying research needs, gaps, and trends.

Results

For this purpose, an in-depth analysis of 389 primary studies is presented. The information obtained from the mapping process is also constrained. Concretely, 35 ATs versus 22 disabilities are compared, obtaining striking peaks for some disabilities described in the discussion.

Conclusions

Finally, the findings show that several areas have been covered only lightly, revealing interesting future directions and challenges for junior researchers.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• • ATs have the potential to break down barriers for people with disabilities, enabling them to participate more fully in society. This implies a need for rehabilitation programs to incorporate ATs into their strategies to enhance social inclusion.

• • Given the transformative role of ICT, rehabilitation programs should focus on helping people with disabilities develop the necessary technological skills to utilize ATs effectively.

• • This work highlights the diversity of ATs and disabilities, suggesting a need for personalized rehabilitation plans that match specific ATs to individual disabilities.

• • Rehabilitation professionals should be trained to assess and recommend appropriate ATs for each case. Rehabilitation programs should consider incorporating cutting-edge ATs and staying involved in research to contribute to future developments to cover gaps and challenges identified.

Keywords:

• Systematic mapping study
• assistive technologies
• people with disabilities

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This research has been supported by the NICO project (PID2019-105455GB-C31) and VICTORY Project (TIN2017-82113-C2-1-R) of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness MINECO/FEDER R&D, UE. and the TRoPA project (CEI-12) of the Andalusian Regional Ministry of Economy, Knowledge, Business and University.