The assistive technology capacity assessment (ATA-C)
Advancing data collection on Assistive Technology
WHO estimates that today 2.5 billion people need one or more assistive products. With a global ageing population and a rise in noncommunicable diseases, this number will rise beyond 3.5 billion by 2050, with many older people needing two or more products as they age. However, in some settings access to assistive products can be as low as 3%As the world’s population ages and the prevalence of non-communicable diseases increases, the need for assistive technology will continue to rise. Access to assistive technology is essential for many people to participate in education, work, as well as family, and community life.
One of the most significant barriers to accessing assistive technology is a lack of data. Without relevant, quality information, decision-makers face huge challenges in developing evidence-informed policies and programmes to improve access for their populations.
To respond to this need and to the resolution's mandate in improving access to assistive technology (WHA71.8), the WHO is developing the Assistive Technology Assessment (ATA) toolkit to support countries in collecting data on assistive technology.
The purpose
The ATA toolkit consists of three data collection tools that address the following questions:
- What are the met and unmet population needs in terms of access to assistive technology?
- What is the country’s capacity to meet the identified unmet need?
- What is the impact of assistive technology on the people who use it?
The ATA toolkit will help countries to collect data to inform decision for policy and programme design, raise awareness on the need and impact of assistive technology, and galvanize political support and resources for assistive technology.
The tools
The assistive technology capacity assessment (ATA-C) is a system-level tool to evaluate a country’s capacity to finance, regulate, procure and provide assistive technology. The implementation process can also serve to bring diverse stakeholders together and build momentum for action.
The ATA-C is intended to be implemented by an experienced team, in collaboration with relevant ministries and users’ organizations. To access the ATA-C tool and supporting documents, please visit the portal and register your interest. Through this portal, WHO will provide technical support and facilitate coordination and connections between the diverse stakeholders in countries.
To access the ATA-C implementation manual visit this page.
The rapid assistive technology assessment (rATA) is a population-based household survey that measures the need, demand, and barriers to accessing assistive technology. The tool can be used alone, incorporated into broader household surveys or in national censuses
The rATA is intended to be implemented by a team of trained surveyors. To access the rATA questionnaires, please follow the link: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish. To access the related event and other training materials visit this page.
The assistive technology impact assessment tool (ATA-I) is a population-based household survey used to measure the impact of assistive technology on individuals. The tool is designed to collect information about the impact of assistive technology on a persons’ empowerment, inclusion, participation, quality of life, dignity, and enjoyment of human rights.
This tool is currently in the process of development.
