Key Question: What are the obstacles to accessible medical instrumentation?

Motivation.  Medical instrumentation covers a vast landscape.  There are also many types of disabilities and impairments.  To be effective and consumer-focused, it is critical that this RERC understand how essential medical instrumentation is inaccessible to people with a range of disabilities.

Short- and Medium-Term Outcomes:

1. New knowledge of the type and extent of obstacles to accessible medical instrumentation.

2. Refined understanding of needs and of the nature of these problems, to a degree that can help direct other research and development activities of the RERC.

Objectives:

• To identify patterns of access issues and provision of healthcare, based on disabilities and/or categories of instrumentation
• To identify barriers with respect to medical instrumentation experienced by healthcare professionals when attempting to provide quality care to patients with disabilities
• To identify barriers with respect to medical instrumentation experienced by healthcare professionals with disabilities when attempting to provide quality care to patients
• To inform other projects in the RERC about issues, priorities for solution, potential for design improvements, or need for further research
• To identify how manufacturers consider patients with disabilities when designing medical devices
• To identify how manufacturers consider healthcare providers with disabilities when designing medical devices
• To define the most important problem areas identified, and ascertain the state of the art of instrumentation in those areas

Target Populations for Needs Assessment:

Project R.1.1 / Healthcare Consumer Needs Assessment aims to identify the nature of obstacles related to medical instrumentation that prevent people with disabilities from receiving healthcare services as medical patients. When closed in July 2004, over 400 persons with disabilities had successfully completed the R1.1 National Survey, which is available to view as a guest user. Preliminary results have been reported at several conferences. Analysis of data continues, and we have started implementing consumer focus groups in targeted areas.

Project R1.2 / Healthcare Service Provider Needs Assessment aims to identify the nature of obstacles related to medical instrumentation that prevent healthcare service providers, either with disabilities or with significant experience serving patients with disabilities, from providing healthcare services to individuals with disabilities. The R1.2 Delphi Survey process is completed (the current survery is available for viewing as guest user), with the national survey starting in March 2005.

Project R.1.3 / Manufacturer Needs Assessment will conduct activities (e.g., surveys, interviews) to identify the nature of obstacles preventing device manufacturers from producing instrumentation that reduces injury and is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. These structured interviews preceded by short surveys will be conducted mostly during the Summer of 2005.

Project R1.4 / Problem Definition will synthesize the findings of Projects R1.1, R1.2, and R1.3 and will develop a prioritized list of areas of need. It will also ascertain the state of the art of medical instrumentation in the problem areas identified.

Use of Results: Program R1 provides a foundation for most other activities in the RERC. Results of Research Program R1 will be used in Research Programs R2 (Usability Analysis), R3 (Accessibility Metrics) and R4 (Policy Analysis), and in Development Programs D2 (Design), D3 (Emerging Technologies), and D4 (Guidelines).