We are witnessing growth and maturation in the field of assistive technology (AT), fueled by increasing global awareness of the role of AT in facilitating access to rights of persons with disabilities or impairments associated with aging. The World Health Organization’s Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) Initiative has highlighted the challenges facing people who use or need AT on a global scale reminding us of the interconnected nature of all aspects of AT with proposed 5 Ps as areas of focus (Khasnabis et al., Citation2015). People, or AT users, are at the core of our work (Desmond et al., Citation2018). To deliver AT effectively, we must also consider personnel – the human resources required to provide safe and effective AT services (E. M. Smith et al., Citation2018), policy – the policies and systems governing AT services (MacLachlan et al., Citation2018), provision – the processes used to ensure people get access to the right AT at the right time (De Witte et al., Citation2018), and products – the technologies used in the field (R. O. Smith et al., Citation2018).
As a leading AT journal, we have a responsibility to keep pace with changes in the field, and address the need for evidence to inform AT products and practice, and the programs, systems, and policies which promote and govern access to AT. While AT users, practitioners and researchers understand intuitively, or through experience, that access to AT offers benefit to those who use it, we often lack key evidence to advocate for increased access to AT for all.
To this end, we are adopting a new research framework which identifies specific areas of research to inform the growth of a mature, evidence-informed field. We will continue to publish high-quality Research Papers, describing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research in AT, while distinguishing these from more targeted areas of research. To address the need for empirical evidence in AT, you will find papers dedicated to the development or evaluation of AT specific Outcome Measures. We have added Policy Studies, which will describe the development, application, or evaluation of AT Policy. We have renamed our original design articles to reflect the breadth and complexity of the process used to develop new AT products to Product Development and Evaluation, and encourage AT developers to describe the design, development, and evaluation of novel assistive technologies. We have also added Ethical Considerations, where authors will have an opportunity to explore ethical issues in the development and application of AT products, systems, and services. We are also now seeking Commentary on issues relevant to the advancement of AT written by leading voices in the field.
Leadership in AT research means we must address this range of issues. We must be also principled in our approach to publication, ensuring the work we publish adheres to high methodological and ethical standards, with meaningful inclusion of AT users throughout all aspects of our research and a focus on interdisciplinary work. To that end, you will see statements in our revised Instructions for Authors and future editorials dedicated to these principles.
We have an opportunity to strengthen the field by acknowledging the breadth and complexity of AT. We look forward to sharing the new approach with you and working together to promote access to AT for all.
References
- De Witte, L., Steel, E., Gupta, S., Ramos, V. D., & Roentgen, U. (2018). Assistive technology provision: Towards an international framework for assuring availability and accessibility of affordable high-quality assistive technology. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 13(5), 467–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2018.1470264
- Desmond, D., Layton, N., Bentley, J., Boot, F. H., Borg, J., Dhungana, B. M., Gallagher, P., Gitlow, L., Gowran, R. J., Groce, N., Mavrou, K., Mackeogh, T., McDonald, R., Pettersson, C., & Scherer, M. J. (2018). Assistive technology and people: A position paper from the first global research, innovation and education on assistive technology (GREAT) summit. Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol [Internet]. Informa UK Ltd, 13(5), 8. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2018.1471169
- Khasnabis, C., Mirza, Z., & MacLachlan, M. (2015). Opening the GATE to inclusion for people with disabilities. The Lancet, 386(10010), 2229–2230. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01093-4
- MacLachlan, M., Banes, D., Bell, D., Borg, J., Donnelly, B., Fembek, M., Ghosh, R., Gowran, R. J., Hannay, E., Hiscock, D., Hoogerwerf, E. -J., Howe, T., Kohler, F., Layton, N., Long, S., Mannan, H., Mji, G., Ongolo, T. O., Perry, K., Pettersson, C., Power, J., Ramos, V. D., Slepičková, L., Smith, E. M., Tay-Teo, K., Geiser, P., & Hooks, H. (2018). Assistive technology policy: A position paper from the first global research, innovation, and education on assistive technology (GREAT) summit. Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol [Internet]. Informa UK Ltd, 13(5), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2018.1468496
- Smith, E. M., Gowran, R. J., Mannan, H., Donnelly, B., Alvarez, L., Bell, D., Contepomi. S., Ennion, L., Hoogerwerf, E. -J., Howe, T., Jan, Y. -K., Kagwiza, J., Layton, N., Ledgerd, R., MacLachlan, M., Oggero, G., Pettersson, C., Pousada, T., Scheffler, E., & Wu, S. (2018). Enabling appropriate personnel skill-mix for progressive realization of equitable access to assistive technology. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 13(5), 445–453. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2018.1470683
- Smith, R. O., Scherer, M. J., Cooper, R., Bell, D., Hobbs, D. A., Pettersson, C., Seymour, N., Borg, J., Johnson, M. J., Lane, J. P., Sujatha, S., Rao, P., Obiedat, Q. M., MacLachlan, M., & Bauer, S. (2018). Assistive technology products: A position paper from the first global research, innovation, and education on assistive technology (GREAT) summit. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 13(5), 473–485. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2018.1473895