Smartphone accessibility: understanding the lived experience of users with cervical spinal cord injuries

Development of a therblig-based evaluation methodology for accessible product: a case study of spinal-cord impaired users

PURPOSE

This study proposes a therblig-based evaluation technique as a new accessibility tool for physical products like home appliances that spinal cord injured users occasionally use.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This study recruited nine spinal cord injured users for the interview and observation regarding home appliance usage and analytically structured their usage behaviors using therbligs. The therblig notations eventually referred to actual and potential accessibility issues that spinal cord injured users would encounter when using the home appliances.

RESULTS

The primary therblig operations causing accessibility issues for spinal cord injured users were 'reach,' 'move,' 'grasp,' 'position,' and 'use', corresponding to their disability characteristics. In addition, this study proposed a new effective therblig called "hook," which is suitable for better representation of user behavior and accessibility evaluation of spinal cord users.

CONCLUSION

This study provided an interaction-based accessibility evaluation technique, which is easy to learn and apply, especially for physical products.

Community mobility and participation assessment of manual wheelchair users: a review of current techniques and challenges

According to the World Health Organization, hundreds of individuals commence wheelchair use daily, often due to an injury such as spinal cord injury or through a condition such as a stroke. However, manual wheelchair users typically experience reductions in individual community mobility and participation. In this review, articles from 2017 to 2023 were reviewed to identify means of measuring community mobility and participation of manual wheelchair users, factors that can impact these aspects, and current rehabilitation techniques for improving them. The selected articles document current best practices utilizing self-surveys, in-clinic assessments, and remote tracking through GPS and accelerometer data, which rehabilitation specialists can apply to track their patients' community mobility and participation accurately. Furthermore, rehabilitation methods such as wheelchair training programs, brain-computer interface triggered functional electric stimulation therapy, and community-based rehabilitation programs show potential to improve the community mobility and participation of manual wheelchair users. Recommendations were made to highlight potential avenues for future research.

Development and Use of Assistive Technologies in Spinal Cord Injury: A Narrative Review of Reviews on the Evolution, Opportunities, and Bottlenecks of Their Integration in the Health Domain

Assistive technologies are increasingly taking a leading role in supporting people with spinal cord injury (SCI). This narrative review of reviews intends to contribute by making a map point investigating the integration of ATs in SCI. The methodology of the review was based on: (I) a search of PubMed and Scopus and (II) an eligibility assessment using specific parameters. The outcome highlighted the following: -The evolution of ATs considered in the context of SCI, considering ATs as both products and/or services in standalone and/or networked devices, and as processes of delivery. -Innovative technologies could play an important role in improving the quality of life and in minimizing costs in healthcare. -The international scientific community has identified ATs as one of the six strategic development areas in SCI. The overview also allowed the detection of some problems: (I) The ethical and regulatory aspects have been addressed in a weak way and only in specific and limited cases. (II) There is a lack of studies on the use and applications of ATs in SCI with a focus in multiple domains (e.g., costs, acceptance, dissemination, problems, regulatory aspects, ethical aspects, and other issues important for integration into the health domain). This review highlights the need for further studies and activities focused on integrating consensus in multiple domains, including ethics and regulations, to aid researchers and decision-makers in the field.