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Access to Aids in Italy - Results of the Rapid Assistive Technology Assement Survey (rATA)
Record number: 531
Last update: November 2022
Type of document: Not published
Last update: November 2022
Type of document: Not published
Author: Lorenzo Desideri, Riccardo Magni, Massimo Guerreschi, Claudio Bitelli, Evert-Jan Hoogerwerf, Paolo A
Editorial data: Istituto Superiore di Sanità
Year of publication: 2022
Abstract:
Assistive technologies - known in Italy by the term aids - include a wide variety of products such as, for example, wheelchairs and walkers, hearing aids, glasses or enlargers, pill boxes, augmentative and alternative communication tools and grab bars. The aids also include IT products such as electronic calendars or software for learning and communication. The primary function of the aids is to maintain or improve the independence of the person in order to promote their full well-being. They enable older people, with disabilities or chronic or rare diseases of any age, to live healthy, productive, independent and dignified lives, and to participate in education, the labor market and community life. Aids reduce the need for formal health and support services, long-term care and the work of caregivers. Without aids, people are often at risk of exclusion, isolated or reduced to poverty, with negative repercussions for the person, the family and society. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the people who could benefit from at least one aid are currently more than 1 billion. This figure is set to rise to 2 billion by 2050, due to the constant aging of the population and the increase in the prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases. Against these numbers, ensuring that every person has access to the assistive technologies they need has become a global priority for WHO, as estimates indicate that only 10% of those in need actually have access to an aid. The resolution on access to assistive technologies adopted at the 71st World Health Assembly (WA 71.8) 1 of 2018 entrusted the WHO with the task of drafting the first Global Report on Assistive Technology by 2021 with the aim, among others , to photograph the state of access to assistive technologies globally. To this end, WHO launched an initiative in early 2020 to support Member States in measuring access to assistive technologies through national surveys standardized by means of the "rapid Assistive Technology Assessment" (rATA) tool, an interview specially developed by WHO2 (see box). For Italy, the implementation of the installment interview was entrusted by the WHO, in co-financing with the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, to a consortium of entities composed of AIAS Bologna onlus, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Fondazione CENSIS and the ete National Assistance Centers (GLIC).
Assistive technologies - known in Italy by the term aids - include a wide variety of products such as, for example, wheelchairs and walkers, hearing aids, glasses or enlargers, pill boxes, augmentative and alternative communication tools and grab bars. The aids also include IT products such as electronic calendars or software for learning and communication. The primary function of the aids is to maintain or improve the independence of the person in order to promote their full well-being. They enable older people, with disabilities or chronic or rare diseases of any age, to live healthy, productive, independent and dignified lives, and to participate in education, the labor market and community life. Aids reduce the need for formal health and support services, long-term care and the work of caregivers. Without aids, people are often at risk of exclusion, isolated or reduced to poverty, with negative repercussions for the person, the family and society. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the people who could benefit from at least one aid are currently more than 1 billion. This figure is set to rise to 2 billion by 2050, due to the constant aging of the population and the increase in the prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases. Against these numbers, ensuring that every person has access to the assistive technologies they need has become a global priority for WHO, as estimates indicate that only 10% of those in need actually have access to an aid. The resolution on access to assistive technologies adopted at the 71st World Health Assembly (WA 71.8) 1 of 2018 entrusted the WHO with the task of drafting the first Global Report on Assistive Technology by 2021 with the aim, among others , to photograph the state of access to assistive technologies globally. To this end, WHO launched an initiative in early 2020 to support Member States in measuring access to assistive technologies through national surveys standardized by means of the "rapid Assistive Technology Assessment" (rATA) tool, an interview specially developed by WHO2 (see box). For Italy, the implementation of the installment interview was entrusted by the WHO, in co-financing with the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, to a consortium of entities composed of AIAS Bologna onlus, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Fondazione CENSIS and the ete National Assistance Centers (GLIC).
