背景:家庭自动化可以为残疾人带来重要成果,包括增强独立性。尽管澳大利亚和其他发达国家在家庭自动化上花费了数百万美元,到目前为止,这种辅助技术还没有经济评估。
方法:进行了家庭自动化研究的社会投资回报分析。主要数据是通过对家庭自动化消费者和其他关键利益相关者的定性访谈收集的。包括职业治疗师,脊柱康复医生,同行支持倡导者,以及家庭自动化提供商的管理人员和技术人员(n=17)。该分析得到了(1)来自家庭自动化结果范围审查的次要数据,以及(2)额外的文献检索,以确定合适的财务代理,并估计家庭自动化用户预期体验每个结果的比例。场景方法与三个家庭自动化场景一起使用,这些场景开发的复杂性和成本不断增加,以计算社会投资回报。
结果:确定了使用家庭自动化的八个结果,包括减少对照顾者和家庭成员的依赖,独立性增强,改善了能量和舒适度。在10年受益期内,每投资1美元,社会投资回报从38.80美元(低成本)到15.10美元(高成本)不等,减少护理服务时间的财务代理对社会回报率的贡献最大。即使是最高的成本情景也在受益期的第一年内以社会价值偿还。
结论:这项研究表明,家庭自动化代表了一项合理的投资,并对残疾人的整体生活质量产生了重大影响。仅关注护理人员工作时间的财务节省,就应该成为资助者认识到家庭自动化价值并继续资助这项辅助技术的有力证据。
■一位消费者代表是项目指导小组的成员,在项目的所有阶段都支持研究团队。
结论:当人们受伤时,他们的残疾可以阻止他们在家里做他们曾经能够做的事情。技术可以帮助残疾人做一些事情,比如打开和关闭门,通过按下按钮关闭水龙头,所以他们不必等待有人来帮助他们。这项技术可能很昂贵,但是没有人看过它是否值得。我们采访了一些使用这种技术的残疾人,他们告诉我们他们的生活变得更好了,现在他们使用了这项技术。例如,他们告诉我们他们能够为自己做事,他们不需要那么多照顾者,他们的心理健康更好。我们与企业讨论了可以在家庭中使用的不同类型技术的成本。然后,我们对残疾人告诉我们他们的生活更好的方式进行了美元估值。例如,为了更好的心理健康,我们计算了看心理学家一年的费用。我们发现,改善残疾人生活的方式的价值至少是技术成本的15倍。因此,这项研究表明,这项技术是物有所值的,并改善了严重受伤后残疾人的生活。
BACKGROUND: Home automation can deliver important outcomes for people with disabilities, including enhanced independence. Despite the millions of dollars spent on home automation in Australia and other developed nations, to date, there has been no economic evaluation of this type of assistive technology.
METHODS: A social return on investment analysis of home automation
study was undertaken. Primary data were collected using qualitative interviews with home automation consumers and other key stakeholders, including occupational therapists, a spinal rehabilitation physician, peer support advocate, and managers and technical personnel from home automation providers (n = 17). The analysis was supported by (1) secondary data from a scoping review on outcomes from home automation and (2) additional literature searches to identify suitable financial proxies and to make estimates of the proportion of home automation users expected to experience each outcome. A scenario approach was used with three home automation scenarios developed with increasing complexity and costs to calculate the social return on investment.
RESULTS: Eight outcomes from the use of home automation were identified, including reduced reliance on carers and family members, increased independence, and improved energy and comfort. The social return on investment ranged from $38.80 (low cost) to $15.10 (high cost) for every $1 invested across a 10-year benefit period, with the financial proxy for reduced care attendant hours contributing the most to the social return ratio. Even the highest cost scenario was repaid in social value within the first year of the benefit period.
CONCLUSIONS: This
study suggests that home automation represents a sound investment and has a significant impact on the overall quality of life of people with disabilities. Focusing on the financial savings in care attendant hours alone should be compelling evidence for funders to recognise home automation\'s value and continue to fund this assistive technology.
UNASSIGNED: A consumer representative was a member of the project steering group, which supported the research team at all stages of the project.
CONCLUSIONS: When people get injured, their disability can stop them doing things around the home that they used to be able to do. Technology can help people with disabilities do things like open and close doors and turn off taps by pressing a button, so they do not have to wait for someone to help them. This technology can be expensive, but no one has looked at if it is worth the money. We spoke to some people with disabilities who used this type of technology, and they told us their lives were better now they used this technology. For example, they told us they were able to do things for themselves, they did not need carers as much, and they had better mental health. We spoke to businesses about the costs of different types of technology that can be used in the home. We then put a dollar value on the ways people with disabilities told us their lives were better. For example, for better mental health, we worked out how much it would cost to see a psychologist for 1 year. We found that the dollar value of the ways in which people with disabilities\' lives were improved was at least 15 times more than the costs of the technology. This
study therefore shows that this technology is worth the money and improves the lives of people with disabilities following serious injury.