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Leave No Woman Behind!

ANDREWS, Rebecca
MAKING IT WORK (MIW)
et al
November 2019

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Two advocacy tools associated with the new African Union (AU) Protocol to the Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have been developed: what is new for African women and girls with disabilities; and what is new for African children, youth and older people with disabilities. The new protocols are localised, progressive, intersectional and gender inclusive

 

The tools are available in short from (2 pages) or long form (4 pages) which provide details of the specific rights articles and definitions

 

Making It Work developed the new advocacy tool with COVAW, FIDA-Kenya and UDPK

 

 

Feeling controlled or being in control? Apps for self-management among older people with neurological disability

WINBERG, C
KYLBERG, M
PETTERSSON, C
HARNETT, T
HEDVALL, P-O
MATTSSON, T
LEXELL, E Månsson
2019

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Purpose: 

The aim of this paper was to describe how people living with a neurological disability such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and stroke reason regarding using apps to facilitate self-management in everyday life.

 

Material and methods: 

A qualitative research approach with a focus group methodology was used. The sample comprised 16 participants, 11 men and 5 women, with an average age of 64 years (ranging from 51–80 years). Six participants were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, six with Parkinson’s disease and four with stroke. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, which is a method for identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns.

 

Results:

 The results formed two themes. The first theme “using apps to have control of my health” comprises two subthemes; “monitor and take responsibility for a healthy lifestyle” and “compensate to facilitate everyday life”. The second theme “using the app as a tool and means for communication” also comprised two subthemes; “dare to trust the app” and “feeling safe when sharing information with health care professionals”.

 

Conclusions:

 The use of apps put increased responsibility on the person and had the possibility to make them more involved in their own care. The use of an app can facilitate a healthy lifestyle and help to monitor disease-specific symptoms. In order to be able to use apps for communication with the health care sector legislation and safety issues need to be considered.

‘Enabling Access’: A Pilot Study on Access and Use of Assistive Products in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka

HETTIARACHCHI, Shyamani
SUBRAMANIAM, V
RAJAH, Emil
GOWRITHARAN, Paramaguru
NIZAR, Shamra
SALEEM, Shakeela
2019

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Purpose: The need for suitable assistive technology is growing all over the world, not only for people with disabilities but also for the ageing population with functional decline and non-communicable diseases. Access to assistive technology promotes access to education, employment and active societal participation. The aim of this study was to assess the self-reported need by persons with disabilities and by people who were 65 years and older without disabilities in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, for assistive products; and to identify barriers to accessing these assistive products.

 

Method: This mixed-methods pilot study included 76 participants who were either persons with disabilities or their caregiver or persons 65 years and older, from the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, affected by the now-ended 30-year civil war.  To ascertain trends in the local need for assistive products, a translated version of the World Health Organisation’s Priority Assistive Products List of 50 items was used. In addition, semi-structured interviews with key participants were conducted, to gain some insights into the barriers to accessing assistive products. 

 

Results: The most widely used assistive products among persons with disabilities were connected to war-related injuries. In contrast, those used by the older age group of persons without disabilities were connected to non-communicable diseases and age-related frailty. The assistive products requested by both groups were aids to promote independence in daily activities and to support access to education and employment. The emergent themes included affordability, employment, independence in activities of daily living, stigma and psychological impact, and a lack of awareness and guidance in the use of assistive devices.

 

Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for policies and practices to be informed by local socio-cultural, historical and geographical realities.

The concept of welfare technology in Swedish municipal eldercare

FRENNERT, Susanne
BAUDIN, Katarina
September 2019

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Purpose: An ageing population presents a challenge for municipal eldercare in Sweden due to difficulties recruiting staff and there being a strained economy. A strategy involving welfare technology is presented as one such solution. An important group to carry out this strategy involves those who work with welfare technology in municipal eldercare. In this paper we describe their perception of welfare technology, and the challenges and opportunities they perceive in utilizing it.

 

Methods: A self-administered online questionnaire was distributed to all Swedish municipalities and answered by 393 respondents. Analyses show that the respondents were representative of the different professions who work with welfare technology within municipal eldercare.

 

Results: Welfare technology was perceived as being more reliable and safer than humans with regards to supervisions and reminders. The respondents acknowledged factors that slowed down the implementation of welfare technology in municipal eldercare organizations, such as resistance to change, lack of finances, lack of supporting evidence, lack of infrastructure, high staff turnover, difficulties with procurement and uncertainties about responsibility and laws.

 

Conclusions: We found that the people who work with and make decisions about welfare technology in municipal eldercare organizations were generally very positive about the deployment and use of such technology, but there appear to be problems within municipal eldercare organizations to realize this vision. The lack of structured implementation processes and coherent evaluation models indicates inequality of the access to welfare technology and, as a result, even though Swedish eldercare is publicly funded, the availability of welfare technologies and their usage differ between municipalities.

National Conference on Assistive Technology for All 2030, Bengaluru, India, August 2-3, 2019

GHOSH, Ritu
RAMAN, Lakshmi
Eds
August 2019

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The National Conference on Assistive Technology for All – 2030 was held in Bangalore on August 2 – 3, 2019 in celebration of 25 years of Mobility India.

The conference involved 27 distinguished speakers and experts in the field from WHOSEARO, Ministry of SJ&E and the National Institutes, the IITs, IISc, Global Disability Innovation Hub, BIRAC, DEBEL, BeTIC, professional bodies, National Institute of Design, industry and NGOs.

The broad objective of the conference was to bring together all the relevant stakeholders to discuss, identify and agree on key steps to augment AT sector and develop a national AT alliance. 

  • Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE) and its relevance to India
  • WHO Perspective on Assistive Technology
  • Perspective from MSJ&E on Assistive Technology Provision in India
  • Global Disability Innovation Hub and AT Innovation in India
  • Role of AT in SCI-Healthy and Hygienic Bladder & Bowel Management
  • Assistive Technology (AT) and Intellectual Disability (ID): Exploring the Underutilization of Technology for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
  • Humanitarian Emergency Response and Assistive Technology – ICRC Insight 
  • Assistive Technology in Geriatrics and Palliative Care
  • Exploring Barriers to the Use of Assistive Technology for PWDs in India
  • An in-depth user study on Problems Faced by Axillary Crutch Users in India
  • “Perception towards use of Assistive Technology in Higher Education: A case study”
  • A Wheelchair in Rural Bangalore: What do the Users think?
  • Gaze-based Assistive Technologies
  • Innovative Assistive Technology Solutions
  • Human Resource Development and Assistive Technology
  • Assistive Technologies in Universal Health Coverage
  • AT in the Era of AI: How Advanced Technology is Influencing New Designs
  • Independent Walker for Diplegic Cerebral Palsy Children
  • Functional Electrical Stimulation for Drop Foot and/or Knee Instability
  • Enabling Fabrication of Prosthetic and Orthotic Devices with Additive Manufacturing via Digital Transformation
  • Innovations in Different Types of Biomedical Devices
  • Universal Design 
  • Assistive Technologies: Idea to Invention to Innovation to Impact
  • AT – Make in India
  • Information and Communication Assistive Technology & Make in India
  • A Guideline for Service and Delivery to Ensure Quality of Life of Elderly People
  • User-Centred Approach in Creating Impactful Solutions for the Disabled

Design of the user interface for “Stappy”, a sensor-feedback system to facilitate walking in people after stroke: a user-centred approach

JIE, Li-Juan
JAMIN, Gaston
SMIT, Kate
BEURSKENS, Anna
BRAUN, Susy
2019

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Introduction: 

Sensor-feedback systems can be used to support people after stroke during independent practice of gait. The main aim of the study was to describe the user-centred approach to (re)design the user interface of the sensor feedback system “Stappy” for people after stroke, and share the deliverables and key observations from this process.

 

Methods: 

The user-centred approach was structured around four phases (the discovery, definition, development and delivery phase) which were fundamental to the design process. Fifteen participants with cognitive and/or physical limitations participated (10 women, 2/3 older than 65). Prototypes were evaluated in multiple test rounds, consisting of 2–7 individual test sessions.

 

Results: 

Seven deliverables were created: a list of design requirements, a personae, a user flow, a low-, medium- and high-fidelity prototype and the character “Stappy”. The first six deliverables were necessary tools to design the user interface, whereas the character was a solution resulting from this design process. Key observations related to “readability and contrast of visual information”, “understanding and remembering information”, “physical limitations” were confirmed by and “empathy” was additionally derived from the design process.

 

Conclusions: 

The study offers a structured methodology resulting in deliverables and key observations, which can be used to (re)design meaningful user interfaces for people after stroke. Additionally, the study provides a technique that may promote “empathy” through the creation of the character Stappy. The description may provide guidance for health care professionals, researchers or designers in future user interface design projects in which existing products are redesigned for people after stroke.

Rapid review of the inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in gender-based violence (GBV) humanitarian interventions

PEARCE, Emma
MURRAY, Sinead
REIS, Chen
May 2019

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VOICE has partnered with Elrha to conduct a rapid review to:

1. Improve understanding of how people with disabilities and older people are included in GBV interventions;

2. Assess how strategies for DOAI are aligned with the recently published Humanitarian Inclusion Standards (HIS) for Older People and People with Disabilities;

3. Identify and document positive practice examples of inclusion of people with disabilities and older people in GBV interventions.

 

The VOICE review team collected qualitative and quantitative data through a range of methodologies, including a desk review of formal and grey literature such as programme documentation, and key informant interviews with key stakeholders.​

Towards inclusive social protection systems supporting full and effective participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities

SCHMITT, Valerie
BEHRENDT, Christina
April 2019

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Presentations and discussion from the Disability-Inclusive Social Protection meeting, 8 April 2019

As a follow up to the joint statement “Towards inclusive social protection systems supporting full and effective participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities”, the new UNPRDP funded initiative co-implemented by ILO and UNICEF in close cooperation with IDA seeks to develop practical guidance for countries, development agencies and DPOs for the reform of different critical aspects of social protection systems.

Rapid needs assessment of older people Cyclone Idai, Malawi

HELPAGE INTERNATIONAL
MALAWI NETWORK OF OLDER PEOPLES ORGANISATIONS (MANEPO)
March 2019

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In early March 2019, heavy rains and floods affected the majority of the districts in southern Malawi. At least 115,000 were affected, with scores of fatalities, injured and missing persons. The situation intensified when Cyclone Idai reached Malawi, increasing the devastation caused by heavy rain weeks earlier. When Cyclone Idai caused the Shire river to reach capacity and flood, the districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje were among the worst affected. The aim of this rapid needs assessment was to inform the design of  HelpAge International’s own humanitarian response to the devastating impact of Cyclone Idai on older people in Malawi. The Malawi Network of Older Persons’ Organisations (MANEPO) and HelpAge International jointly conducted the assessment in Chikwawa and Nsanje districts in March 2019. The report also aims to support organisations operating in the affected areas to develop inclusive programmes and support advocacy for the rights of older people to be upheld in the response. The report contains key findings of the assessment, together with observations and analysis. 

HelpAge training portal

HELPAGE INTERNATIONAL
2019

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This digital learning platform was established for the purpose of remote humanitarian response for hard to reach areas. HelpAge International is utilizing expertise to train international and national organizations, government agencies, and the private sector on Age Inclusive Interventions.

These series of trainings on 'Helping Older People in Emergencies (HOPE)' is designed to strengthen the capacity of humanitarian actors to ensure that their humanitarian action is evidence-based and responds to the distinct needs and priorities of crisis-affected to older men, women, and other vulnerable groups.

 

Modules available are:

1. Age & its interaction with vulnerabilities in humanitarian crises

2. Inclusion of older people in emergency needs assessments & SADDD

3. Health, home-based & community-based care in humanitarian crises

4. Protection of older people in humanitarian crises

5. Food security & livelihoods interventions for older people in humanitarian crises

More at risk: how older people are excluded in humanitarian data

TANYANG, Gaynor
VENTURES, Lumina
2019

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This report evaluates existing policies and practices on how older people have been excluded from data in disaster preparedness and humanitarian responses in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

In order to evaluate existing policies and practices in the collection of inclusion data, the research employed two main methods: a review of documents and a survey. The review of documents was conducted in three stages: a global literature review, followed by a policy review and a practice review. The survey analysed the responses of 72 respondents from 10 countries .

Older people’s perceptions of health and wellbeing in rapidly ageing low- and middle-income countries

ALBONE, Rachel
2019

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This report presents the findings of an analysis of data collected by HelpAge International and its network members using HelpAge’s Health Outcomes Tool. The tool is designed to collect data to better understand health and care in older age, and to measure the impact of HelpAge’s health and care programmes. It was developed in response to the challenges posed by the lack of data on older people’s health and care, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, and the resulting lack of understanding about how best to provide age, gender and disability sensitive services for older women and men. The tool was used between 2014 and 2017 in nine low- and middle-income countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America,1 and gathered data from over 3,000 older people. The findings are presented here in the context of the current debate and evidence on older people’s right to health.

This report explores three different areas in relation to ageing and health: older people’s access to health services; availability of care and support; and the impact both health, and care and support services have on older people’s health status, functional ability and wellbeing.

 

 

 

Rapid review of disability and older age inclusion in humanitarian WASH interventions

RICHARD, Danielle
KIANI, SHIRIN
January 2019

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A knowledge gap in good practices and innovation for how people with disabilities and older people are included in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions in humanitarian contexts prompted this review. To promote inclusive humanitarian action, the Age and Disability Capacity Programme (ADCAP) consortium developed the Humanitarian Inclusion Standards (HIS). The HIS consists of nine key inclusion standards and sets sector specific standards, including for the WASH sector. The WASH inclusion standards are structured around three key dimensions of inclusion: 1) Collection of Information, 2) Addressing Barriers and 3) Participation and Resilience. This report provides key actions, trends and gaps for each of these dimensions. The report is based on a literature review and a small number of key informant iterviews.

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