Assistive Technology: A Global Perspective

Assistive technology (AT) is a means of realizing the Sustainable Development Goals and a right affirmed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability. AT is an umbrella term encompassing assistive products and the systems and services required to deliver them. Assistive products include devices, instruments, equipment, and software, and may be especially produced or generally available. Assistive products support functioning and independence for people who have functional limitations including those associated with aging, disability, and other health conditions. AT services refer to the human factors which fit product to person, environment, and goals such as assessment, fitting, training, adaption, and outcome measurement. This entry takes a contemporary global perspective of AT. The entry summarizes the development of technology in relation to functional impairment and considers how we might understand and harness rapid technological developments. The complex AT ecosystem is discussed, articulating the people who use AT, the personnel who assess, fit, adapt, and maintain AT, the provision systems that enable access to AT, and the policy contexts which govern AT. Globally applicable approaches to collect data on, and scale access to, AT are presented.