WORKSHOP: Summit on New Strategies for Measuring Assistive Technology Outcomes

今天，美国有超过5600万人报告有某种程度的残疾，随着所谓的“婴儿潮”一代的年龄增长，这个数字在未来几年可能会增加。 然而，衡量残疾人干预措施的成果几十年来一直是残疾和康复研究界面临的挑战。 由于每个人的极端变异性和独特的情况，当试图衡量使用辅助技术（AT）的真实效果时，随机对照试验（RCT）的黄金标准变得不可行。 这使得研究界和那些依赖干预措施有效性证据的人（例如，金融机构和保险公司）陷入困境。 这是资助支持峰会（研讨会）衡量辅助技术成果的新战略，这将作为将于7月10日至14日在弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿的凯悦水晶城举行的2016年年度RESNA会议的一部分并立即举行。 北美康复工程和辅助技术协会是一个专注于残疾人技术的国际组织。 RESNA的成员由个人和机构组成，涵盖一系列学科（包括研究人员、临床医生、供应商、制造商、消费者和在非营利和营利环境中工作的教育工作者），所有这些人都致力于促进思想和信息的交流，以促进辅助技术的发展。 关于RESNA及其年度会议的更多信息可在http://www.resna.org上获得。PI计划利用即将举行的RESNA会议将汇集具有辅助技术研究和服务相关专业知识的国家组织和专业人员的事实，组织一次关于这一关键主题的峰会，费用比其他情况下所需的少得多。 考虑到这一点，会议组织者编织了一个AT成果主题（包括全天课程，全体会议和平台会议，研讨会等）。这将为一整天的高级讨论提供背景和基础，讨论如何在会议结束后立即改进对AT结果的测量。 峰会所产生的共识建立和新方法的文件将有助于转变循证实践的关键步骤，并将其纳入成果数据收集、分析和决策的新方法中。会议结束时的全天邀请峰会将汇集当前的科学思想，为向新的评估方法转变奠定基础，描述创建新的基于证据的实践模式所需的步骤，并开始勾画这种新方法所需的变量的关键框架。 首脑会议成果将包括一份报告，其中将：1）总结AT结果研究的科学状态。2）总结AT结果研究方法学的科学状态。3）描述当前限制科学现状的问题。4）为新的AT结果研究方法产生可操作的想法。5）阐明特定的AT结果方法供研究和资助机构考虑。预计这些未来的方法将需要从从业者，消费者和辅助技术分销商那里收集广泛的数据，这些来自不同来源的数据将需要汇集到一个中央数据库，以供查询和分析。

Today, over 56 million people in the United States report some degree of disability, a number which will likely grow in coming years as the so-called "baby boomer" generation ages. Yet measuring the outcomes of interventions for persons with disabilities has challenged the disability and rehabilitation research community for decades. Because of the extreme variability and unique circumstances of each individual, the gold standard of randomized control trials (RCT) becomes infeasible when trying to measure the true effects of using assistive technologies (AT). This leaves the research community and those who rely on evidence of the efficacy of interventions (e.g., funding agencies and insurance companies) in a quandary. This is funding to support a Summit (workshop) on New Strategies for Measuring Assistive Technology Outcomes, which will take place as part of and immediately following the 2016 annual RESNA conference to be held July 10-14 at the Hyatt Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. RESNA, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America, is the one organization with an international focus that is devoted solely to technology for individuals with disabilities. RESNA's membership consists of individuals and institutions covering a range of disciplines (including researchers, clinicians, suppliers, manufacturers, consumers and educators who work in both non-profit and for-profit settings), all of whom are dedicated to promoting the exchange of ideas and information for the advancement of assistive technology. More information about RESNA and its annual conference is available online at http://www.resna.org. The PI plans to leverage the fact that the upcoming RESNA conference will bring together national organizations and professionals with expertise related to assistive technology research and services, to organize a Summit on this critical topic at much less cost than would otherwise be required. With this in mind, the conference organizers have woven an AT outcomes theme (consisting of a full day course, plenary and platform sessions, workshops, etc.) throughout the conference program, which will provide a backdrop and foundation for a full day of advanced discussions on ways to improve measurement of AT outcomes immediately following the end of the conference. The consensus building and documentation of new methodologies resulting from the Summit will contribute key steps in transforming evidence based practice and its acceptance in new methodologies for outcomes data collection, analysis, and decision making.The full-day invitational Summit at the end of the conference will aggregate current scientific thinking to lay the foundation for a transformative shift in rationale toward a new assessment methodology, to delineate steps that are required to create a new evidence based practice schema, and to begin sketching the key framework of variables required for such a new methodology. Summit outcomes will include a report that will:1) Summarize the state of the science of AT outcomes research.2) Summarize the state of the science of AT outcomes research methodologies.3) Delineate the current issues that restrain the current state of the science.4) Generate actionable ideas for new AT outcomes research methods.5) Articulate specific AT outcomes approaches for consideration by research and funding agencies.It is anticipated that these future methodologies will require broad data collection from practitioners, consumers, and assistive technology distributors throughout their practices, and that these data from varied sources will need to be aggregated into a central database for inquiries and analysis.