Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology
Volume 10, Number 4 (July 2015)
http://informahealthcare.com/toc/idt/current

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Special Section: Assistive Technology Access to Assistive Technology in Resource Limited Environments
Guest Editors – Mark Harniss and Deepti Samant Raja
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Editorial
Assistive technology access and service delivery in resource-limited environments: introduction to a special issue of Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology
July 2015, Vol. 10, No. 4 , Pages 267-270 (doi:10.3109/17483107.2015.1039607)
Mark Harniss, Deepti Samant Raja, and Rebecca Matter
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, 2Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University, Washington, DC, USA, 3Center for Technology and Disability Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, and 4School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Abstract
This special issue addresses access to and service delivery of assistive technology (AT) in resource-limited environments (RLEs). Access to AT is complicated not simply by limited funds to purchase AT, but by larger ecosystem weaknesses in RLEs related to legislation and policy, supply, distribution, human resources, consumer demand and accessible design. We present eight diverse articles that address various aspects of the AT ecosystem. These articles represent a wide range of AT, many different countries and different research methods. Our goal is to highlight a topic that has received scant research investigation and limited investment in international development efforts, and offer an insight into how different countries and programs are promoting access to AT. We encourage researchers, funders and non-profit organizations to invest additional effort and resources in this area.
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Users’ perspectives on the provision of assistive technologies in Bangladesh: awareness, providers, costs and barriers
Johan Borg, Per-Olof Östergren
Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology Jul 2015, Vol. 10, No. 4: 301–308.
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Comparison between performances of three types of manual wheelchairs often distributed in low-resource settings
Karen Rispin, Joy Wee
Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology Jul 2015, Vol. 10, No. 4: 316–322.
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The use of mobile devices as assistive technology in resource-limited environments: access for learners with visual impairments in Kenya
Alan R. Foley, Joanna O. Masingila
Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology Jul 2015, Vol. 10, No. 4: 332–339.
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Using SMS as a tool to reduce exclusions experienced by caregivers of people with disabilities in a resource-limited Colombian community
Tim Barlott, Kim Adams, Francene Rodríguez Díaz, Mónica Mendoza Molina
Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology Jul 2015, Vol. 10, No. 4: 347–354.