Technical Report - Outcome Measures Used in AT Research & Development

Outcomes Measures Technical Report (PDF, 576KB)

Executive Summary

Very little published research exists to describe how product developers view outcomes measurement. This paper presents the results of a two-fold survey conducted to assess the views of product developers and manufacturers towards assistive technology outcome measurement. Federally funded assistive technology investigators who received funding in the year 2001 received an open-ended request for their methodologies. A random sample of product developers drawn from the ABLEDATA database, and technology exhibitors at the 2001 RESNA and AOTA conferences were sent a survey. The data show that developers acknowledge the usefulness of outcomes data and relate that they would use outcomes information if available. The study is an important first step in attempting to quantify how product developers feel about outcome measures and their products.