Webinar - 'How to' evaluate mainstream and emerging technologies used for executive function support after brain injury

This 60-minute webinar was presented by A/Prof Libby Callaway and Prof Grahame Simpson on 27th November 2020. Session Synopsis: Emerging technologies in the 21st-century offer opportunity to change the way support is delivered to people with acquired brain injury (ABI). Smart homes, wearable, and mobile technologies, and associated mobile applications, can offer new approaches to compensate for executive dysfunction. The growing range of technologies available holds the potential to improve independent living in the community. However, tools to guide consideration and selection of technology for compensatory cognitive support are lacking. This ‘How To’ session will present a new framework for scoping and evaluating key features of technology which may be applied to compensate for executive dysfunction following ABI. Key evaluation domains will be outlined and discussed in detail. Workshop attendees will explore the use of the framework via a case scenario (contributed by our team’s lived experience collaborators) to evaluate and consider features of a new movement-sensing technology that can be retrofitted into a home to offer audio-prompting support customized to a user’s goals and support needs. There will be an opportunity to provide structured feedback about the utility of the framework based on this applied experience. Level aimed for: Basic to Intermediate Learning objectives: At the end of this session, participants will have: Learned about a new technology scoping framework developed by a research team in collaboration with people with lived experience of acquired brain injury; health professionals; researchers, and social and injury insurers; Gained a greater understanding of the domains of evaluation necessary when a person is exploring the use of technology for executive function support following ABI; Been offered opportunity to test and provide feedback on the use of this framework, using a case scenario contributed by lived experience collaborators