USER SATISFACTION WITH ASSISTIVE DEVICES: A WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF CLIENT CENTERED APPROACH IN FIELD OF ASSISTIVE DEVICES

Background: In order to promote availability of assistive devices (AD) for persons with functional limitations in Latvia, a non-governmental organization The Park of Special Aids (Speciālo palīglīdzekļu parks – SPP) was... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
In order to promote availability of assistive devices (AD) for persons with functional limitations in Latvia, a non-governmental organization The Park of Special Aids (Speciālo palīglīdzekļu parks – SPP) was established with the support from Swedish charity Foundation VAGGAN. In SPP the service related to AD is provided by multiprofessional team consisting of occupational therapists, physiotherapist and medical technician, striving to practice a client centred approach from the very beginning. In this context regular feedback from AD users is crucial allowing those involved in service delivery to monitor the quality of their services.
Theoretical underpinning:
Theoretical foundation of the study is formed by the concept of client-centred approach.
Assessment / Intervention/ Technique:
All together 430 participants - users of AD provided by SPP were invited to participate in telephone interviews based on Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST) (developed by Demers et al, 2000) as well as demographic data questionnaire (developed by SPP). A total of 130 clients agreed to participate (response rate 30 %).
Evaluation of outcome:
Overall satisfaction with AD and related services was high. The lowest mean satisfaction score was 4.74 (SD = 0.76) for comfort of use of AD. The highest mean rate was 4.98 (SD = 0.76) for simplicity of use of AD as well as for professional services.
Application to practice:
The results of the study provide objective assessment of the AD as well as OT service provided at SPP and help to develop the provision of AD further.