Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40722442›Full record

ArticleBioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Understanding the Impact of Assistive Technology on Users' Lives in England: A Capability Approach.

Rebecca Joskow, Dilisha Patel, Anna Landre, Kate Mattick, Catherine Holloway, Jamie Danemayer, Victoria Austin

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Rebecca JoskowGlobal Disability Innovation Hub, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Dilisha PatelGlobal Disability Innovation Hub, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-3746-8171
Anna LandreGlobal Disability Innovation Hub, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Kate MattickGlobal Disability Innovation Hub, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Catherine HollowayGlobal Disability Innovation Hub, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7843-232X
Jamie DanemayerGlobal Disability Innovation Hub, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Victoria AustinGlobal Disability Innovation Hub, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4451-7680

Funding

Cabinet Office, HMG, UK N/A
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study presents an analysis of England's 2023 national assessment of assistive technology (AT) access and use, with a particular focus on the qualitative impact of AT as described by users. It aims to address limitations in conventional AT impact assessments, which often prioritize clinical outcomes or user satisfaction, by offering a deeper account of how impact is experienced in everyday life. Drawing on data from a nationally representative survey of 7000 disabled adults and children, as well as six focus group discussions and 28 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders across the WHO 5Ps framework (People, Providers, Personnel, Policy, and Products), the study applies Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum's Capability Approach to explore these experiences. Using inductive thematic analysis, we identify three main domains of user-reported impact: Functions and Activities (e.g., mobility, communication, vision, leisure, daily routines, and cognitive support), Outcomes (e.g., autonomy, quality of life, safety, social participation, wellbeing, and work and learning), and Lived Experience (e.g., access barriers, essentiality, identity and emotional connection, peace of mind, and sense of control and confidence). These findings offer a more user-centered understanding of AT impact and can inform the development of future measurement tools, research design, and government-led interventions to improve AT provision.

Indexed as

assistive technologycapability approachdisabilityimpactuser-centered

Identifiers

PMID40722442
PMCPMC12292795

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.