Psychosocial impact of electronic aids to daily living

Electronic aids to daily living (EADLs) allow persons who have a degenerati ve neuromuscular condition such as Duchenne's muscular dystrophy to operate a wide variety of household and workplace appliances without assistance (i ndependent of family members or other caregivers). There is very little pub lished research to describe how well EADLs are perceived by users to enhanc e their sense of personal autonomy, functional independence, and psychologi cal well being. Psychosocial impact is a significant determinant of how use rs perceive the benefit of assistive devices to their quality of life. This study compared the perceived psychosocial impact of EADLs on a group of de vice users with the anticipated impact of EADLs reported by a group who wer e eligible for, but had not yet received, these devices. The perceptions of the user group were measured at two points in time, approximately 6 to 9 m onths apart, to examine the stability of psychosocial impact. The Psychosoc ial impact of Assistive Devices Scale was the instrument used to assess per ceived impact. EADLs were found to produce similar degrees of positive impa ct on users and positive perceptions of anticipated impact on those without devices. The psychosocial impact on users was stable over time. The result s indicate that the perceived benefits of EADLs to the autonomy, functional independence, and psychological well, being of both users and nonusers are positive and strikingly similar. The study is an important first step in a ttempting to quantify psychosocial outcomes for EADLs in a way that might f acilitate economic analysis of these devices in the future.