The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #58656

Jeffrey Jutai, PhD, School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, Elborn College, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada, 519-=661-2111 ext88978, jjutai@uwo.ca and Joseph Bortolussi, MSW, Neurodevelopmental Program, Bloorview Macmillan Children's Centre, 350 Rumsey Road, Toronto, ON M4G 1R8, Canada.

There is very little systematic research on how children who have a physical disability and their parents describe the impact of assistive devices, such as wheelchairs and communication aids, on their health and well-being. This is very surprising given that the overwhelming majority of these children will use one or more forms of assistive devices over the course of their lives. Children, compared with adults who have a physical disability, have been the subjects of far less research on assistive device outcomes. As a result, children's health practitioners have far fewer tools and techniques available to them for evaluating these outcomes. The Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devicess Scales (PIADS) is a 26-item, self-report questionnaire designed to assess the effects of an assistive device on psychological well-being and subjective quality of life. This paper reports our progress on researching and developing a version of the PIADS for children. We will present and discuss the findings from several qualitative research studies. We have found, for example, that children and their parents differ in the relative emphasis they place on the kinds of outcomes they expect from assistive devices. Nonetheless, the essential constructs measured by the adult version of the PIADS appear to relevant for children.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants in this session will learn about an international program of research on the impact of assistive devices on the psychological well-being and subjective quality of life of individuals who have a physical disability. They will learn the latest results from research projects that are attempting to develop reliable and valid impact measures for children. As a result of this session, participants will be able to recognize the personal and environmental factors that can either facilitate or be a barrier to a child's successful adoption and long-term use of an assistive device such as a wheelchair or communication aid. They will be able to articulate the respective key concerns of children and their parents about assistive devices for mobility and communication.

Keywords: Well-Being, Technology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: University of Western Ontario Bloorview Macmillan Children's Centre
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.