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Service Delivery Systems for Assistive Technology in Europe

Record number: 410
Last update: September 2012
Type of document: Not published
Author: AAATE
Editorial data: Proceedings of the AAATE 2012 International Workshop (Copenhagen, 21-22/05/2012)
Year of publication: 2012
Abstract:
The UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities – among many other things – commits the signing States to enforce appropriate measures to facilitate access to assistive technologies (AT) for those who need them to improve independence in daily life and to participate in society on an equal basis with others. The various AT service delivery systems in Europe differ significantly from each other, in relation to each Country’s disability policy, socio-economic context and history. The experience of service delivery practice suggests that room for improvement exists in each Country, especially in relation to the new challenges brought on by today’s rapidly changing society. Within today’s political climate of budget containment and accountability calling for evidence-based practice, there is an increasing demand for evidence of the cost-effectiveness of any public support system to personal users’ needs. Policy makers and financing agencies need such information to properly allocate resources, control how efficiently they are used, stimulate the market, identify priority areas for research, understand possible wider implications at an overall societal level; professionals working in health care and social services need to know whether their AT choices have proved effective within the intervention program, useful for the client, and efficient in using resources; users and user organizations require to be fully involved in decision making processes and bring their expertise in this discussion. It is probably impossible to design a “perfect” AT service delivery system that is applicable in every country in the EU. However, sharing different experiences and views will greatly help understand to which extent “good practices” could be exported from one country to another, what are the key principles of a today’s “ideal” AT service delivery system, and what roadmaps could be envisaged for a better future.
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