Systematic review: Investigating the effectiveness of assistive technology to enable internet access for individuals with deafblindness

The purpose of this study is to systematically review published evidence regarding the development, use, and effectiveness of assistive devices and technol ogies that enable internet access for individuals who are deafblind. Eight electronic research databases (CINAHL, Embase, Engineering Village MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) and three clinical trials registries (ISRCTN Registry, WHO ICTRP, and ClinicalTrials.gov) were searched. Seven articles met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. The assistive technologies described were in the preliminary stages of development, with only three of the technologies having undergone any testing. The effectiveness of all seven assistive technologies was quantified in this review based on the proposed impacts of internet access on the domains of the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework. Internet access technologies for individuals with deafblindness are in the early stages of development and are targeted toward specific functions of the internet. It is imperative that future device development and evaluation seek input from persons who are deafblind. There is also a need to address the gap between academic research, which seeks to develop assistive technology to access the internet and the translation into real-world use of this technology.本研究旨在系统梳理已发表的相关证据，围绕为聋盲人群提供互联网接入功能的辅助设备与技术的开发、应用及有效性展开。本研究检索了8个电子研究数据库（CINAHL、Embase、Engineering Village、MEDLINE、PsycINFO、PubMed、Cochrane Library及Web of Science）以及3个临床试验注册库（ISRCTN注册库、WHO ICTRP与ClinicalTrials.gov），最终共有7篇文献符合本次系统综述的纳入标准。所述辅助技术大多处于开发初期阶段，仅3项技术完成了相关测试。本综述依据世界卫生组织《国际功能、残疾和健康分类》（International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, ICF）框架的功能域，结合互联网接入的预期影响，对7项辅助技术的有效性进行了量化评估。面向聋盲人群的互联网接入技术目前仍处于早期开发阶段，且仅针对互联网的特定功能进行研发。未来的设备开发与评估工作必须充分征求聋盲人群的意见与建议；同时，亟需解决当前学术研究聚焦于开发互联网接入辅助技术，与该技术向实际应用转化之间存在的脱节问题。