A Global Environmental Scan of Competencies for Mobility Assistive Product Provision.

Competencies defined in practice standards and frameworks promote safe and effective healthcare by underpinning training curricula and service standards. The provision of mobility assistive products involves a range of professionals, each guided by various standards and frameworks that define various competencies. This environmental scan aimed to identify global resources containing professional competencies applicable to mobility assistive product provision and to compare them against a gold standard.

Financial inclusion for people with disability: a scoping review.

Background: Financial exclusion is a human rights issue affecting health equity. Evidence demonstrates that financial exclusion is exacerbated for people with disability and those in low- to middle-income countries (LMIC). Barriers to financial access include limited demand for services, banking inadequacies in catering to people with disability, and insufficiently accessible information technologies (ICT) and infrastructure.

Assistive Technology during the COVID-19 Global Pandemic: The Roles of Government and Civil Society in Fulfilling the Social Contract.

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed significant challenges to users of assistive technology (AT). Three key issues emerged from a series of structured qualitative interviews with 35 AT users in six low- and middle-income countries. These were (1) access to information about COVID-19 and available supports and policies, (2) insufficiency of the government response to meet the needs of AT users, and (3) the response of civil society which partially offset the gap in government response.

Access to Assistive Technology during the COVID-19 Global Pandemic: Voices of Users and Families.

The SARS COVID-19 pandemic emerged in 2019 and has impacted people everywhere. Disparities in impact and outcomes are becoming apparent for individuals and communities which go beyond the trajectory of the disease itself, influenced by the strength and weaknesses of systems of universal health care, and the actions of civil society and government. This article is one of a series exploring COVID-19-related experiences of assistive technology (AT) users across the globe and implications for AT systems strengthening.

Assistive Technology Provider Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Globally, health systems face challenges in the delivery of assistive technology (AT) and only 10% of people are currently able to access the assistive products they need. The COVID-19 pandemic presented an uncharted path for AT providers to navigate, placing them under pressure to be agile and rapidly adapt. This article, part of a series, explores the experiences and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on AT providers and aims to inform how AT providers can be better prepared and supported in the future.

Regulation of the global orthotist/prosthetist workforce, and what we might learn from allied health professions with international-level regulatory support: a narrative review.

Background: By 2050, the global demand for orthotic and prosthetic services is expected to double. Unfortunately, the orthotic/prosthetic workforce is not well placed to meet this growing demand. Strengthening the regulation of orthotist/prosthetists will be key to meeting future workforce demands, however little is known about the extent of orthotist/prosthetist regulation nor the mechanisms through which regulation could best be strengthened.

Interassessor agreement of portfolio-based competency assessment for orthotists/prosthetists in Australia: a mixed method study.

Background: Internationally qualified orthotists/prosthetists who want to practice in Australia must pass a portfolio-based competency assessment. Testing the agreement between independent assessors is important to engender confidence in the assessment, and continually improve the processes.

Objectives: To quantify interassessor agreement for all 68 performance indicators in the Australian Orthotic Prosthetic Association's Entry Level Competency Standards and where there was significant disagreement between assessors, to explore the reasons why.