Article

The aim of this study was to use the Delphi method to develop and validate an
ontology for one class of assistive technology (AT), namely physically
controllable pointing devices. A three-round, structured process consisting of
responses to a series of questionnaires was used to identify items and categories
of importance to pointing device prescription from six occupational therapists
with AT expertise. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to
assess the interrater reliability of items included in categories related to the
pointing devices and to the user profile by the six experts during each Delphi
round. During the first round, the ICC ranged from 0.19 to 0.97; this improved to
ICCs ranging from 0.72 to 1.0 during the second round. A full consensus was
reached by the experts during the final round which included 218 items, divided
into five categories, for the pointing device list, and 168 items, divided into
six categories, for the user profile list. This ontology is expected to help
achieve a more systematic regulation of the AT field, leading to greater
standardization and increased knowledge sharing, which may help novice clinicians
to achieve a level of competence in matching AT to a person with special needs.

Langue : ANGLAIS