Measuring what matters: a descriptive participatory case evaluation of a tool for measuring outcomes of assistive technology after acquired brain injury

Abstract

AbstractAcquired Brain Injury (ABI) can lead to the need to plan for housing, assistive technology and support to meet a person’s goals. Recent Australian policy reforms have brought about opportunities for person-centred approaches to assistive technology (AT) product selection, and the opportunity for users of supports such as assistive technology and environmental adaptations to describe and measure their own outcomes. My AT Outcomes Framework (MyATOF) is an Australian tool designed for use by AT users and their support networks to articulate supports, outcomes, costs, and service delivery experiences. This article aims (i) report on use of MyATOF in a case study of ABI and AT-enabled housing and (ii) critically evaluate MyATOF tools and administration for this use case from the perspectives of the MyATOF author, an occupational therapist, and a lived experience expert with an ABI. An iterative development and test design was used to adapt the MyATOF administration procedures and conduct a case report evaluation. Results support the relevance of MyATOF conceptual domains, and detailed data about outcomes made possible by an AT-enabled home was captured. Recommendations are made to further refine the questions for ease of use by persons with ABI including simplifying the costing tool and enabling staggered administration. This case report suggests MyATOF can ‘measure what matters’ for ABI and AT-enabled housing and is worthy of further evaluation.