Development of the new Family Impact of Assistive Technology Scale.

Full Abstract

Children with physical disabilities generally require more care, attention and direct supervision than children without disabilities. Research demonstrates that these higher care-giving demands are associated with poorer psychological and physical health states for parents and other family members. Assistive technologies may have a role in mitigating caregiver stress and burden by improving functional performance, social interaction and autonomy in children with physical disabilities. In this paper, we report on the initial development and testing of the Family Impact of Assistive Technology Scale - a new measure designed to detect the multidimensional effect of assistive device use on families who have young children with disabilities. To study the content validity and face validity of the Family Impact of Assistive Technology Scale, we conducted structured evaluations of the proposed constructs and items with 14 clinical experts and parents of young children with cerebral palsy. Experts agreed that the Family Impact of Assistive Technology Scale contains the key variables needed to study the effect of assistive technology use on child and family functioning. Parents concurred that items on the preliminary version were relevant and clear. Further research is planned to estimate the reliability and other aspects of validity of the Family Impact of Assistive Technology Scale.

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Author information

Author/s: Ryan, Stephen (S); Campbell, Kent A (KA); Rigby, Patricia (P); Germon, Barbara (B); Chan, Betty (B); Hubley, Darlene (D);

Affiliation: Bloorview Research Institute, Bloorview Kids Rehab, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. sryan(-atsign-)bloorview.ca

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift für Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de réadaptation (Int J Rehabil Res), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Sep; vol 29 (issue 3) : pp 195-200

Dates: Created 2006/08/10; Completed 2007/03/29; Revised 2007/11/12;

PMID: 16900039, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Caregivers
Cerebral Palsy - therapy
Child
Child, Preschool

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