Brad Dicianno, MD, Publishes Assistive Technology Research in the Archives of PM&R and Neuroscience Letters
February 14, 2022
Brad Dicianno, MD, professor, UPMC Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and medical director, UPMC Center for Assistive Technology, published several studies in 2021 in collaboration with colleagues from multiple disciplines.
Dr. Dicianno and team largely published on topics related to assistive technology for people with disabilities, including:
- “Effect of Social Determinants of Health Interventions on Adults Living with Disabilities: A Scoping Review” in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. (read full study)
- “Effect of the Assistive Technology Professional on the Provision of Mobility Assistive Equipment” in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. (read full study)
- “Mini-review: Rehabilitation engineering: Research priorities and trends” in Neuroscience Letters. (read full study)
- “Systematic review: Automated vehicles and services for people with disabilities” in Neuroscience Letters. (read full study)
The various studies aimed to:
- Investigate social determinants of health (SDoH) interventions on individual health outcomes, population health, and cost for persons in the United States over age 18 living with disabilities and receiving long-term services and supports (LTSS) in noninstitutional settings.
- Examine factors associated with variability in satisfaction with functional mobility (as measured by the Functional Mobility Assessment [FMA]) in users of mobility devices.
- Determine gaps between research publication and activities and consumer priorities to recommend seven areas of research with high demand and opportunity for growth and innovation.
- Highlight opportunities and barriers to accessible and usable AVs and services, outline research gaps to set a future research agenda, and identify implications for policy and knowledge translation.