title: The impact of assistive technologies on formal and informal home care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Assistive technologies help people with disabilities compensate for their impairments. This study assessed which of 5 categories of assistive technologies-indoor/outdoor mobility, bed transfer, bathing, toileting, and telephone assistance-were substitutes or complements for human personal assistance by differentiating between total and formal personal assistance service (PAS) hours.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study analyzed 2004 National Long-Term Care Survey community-dwelling respondents receiving assistance with activities of daily living. Ordinary least squares (OLS) on total PAS hours was estimated on the entire sample, and logit and OLS models were estimated on the likelihood and hours of formal PAS, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Assistive technology for indoor/outdoor mobility, bed transfer, and bathing was found to be substitutes for total PAS, whereas assistive technology for bed transfer and toileting was found to be complements for the use of formal PAS. Telephone assistance was not significant for either total or formal PAS hours.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of some assistive technologies by older people with disabilities appears to reduce the amount of informal care provided, but not the amount of paid PAS. Thus, this study does not provide support for the hypothesis that the use of assistive technologies will reduce use of paid care and, therefore, spending for long-term care.
authors.affiliation: RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. wlanderson@rti.org.
authors.forename: Wayne L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: RTI International, Washington, District of Columbia.
authors.forename: Joshua M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wiener
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D005791:Patient Care / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D012648:Self Care; D012656:Self-Help Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Assistive technology; Disability; Home care; Personal assistance services; Personal care