Currency and Competence of Occupational Therapists and Consumers with Rapidly Changing Technology.
Emily J Steel, Ricky Buchanan, Natasha Layton and 1 others
PMID 29097973WHAT IT FOUND
Mainstream smart home products can give people with disability useful environmental control without a specialist prescription.
Occupational therapists may need to support informed purchasing and customisation, not just provide approved equipment.
Key findings
01Inexpensive, reliable and interoperable environmental control products are now available in mainstream consumer stores and can be operated from smart phones, tablets or personal computers.
02Informed consumers may bypass traditional assistive technology systems to gain choice and avoid delays, but they can be exposed to marketing and still need advice and services.
03Devices often need assessment, trial, adaptation and training, and buying without considering abilities, carers or home layout can fail.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The evidence comes from an author's own experience and informal correspondence, so it does not show what happens for a wider group of patients. It is a policy commentary rather than a trial, so it cannot establish whether mainstream products improve independence or reduce abandonment. The discussion is limited to Australian assistive technology systems, so it may not apply elsewhere. The supplied text does not report a patient sample, outcomes, or comparison group.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not state funding sources or conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that mainstream smart home products improve outcomes or that occupational therapy assessment is unnecessary. It is an author experience and policy argument, and it says advice and services remain important.