Glossary

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Adherence(also: Treatment Adherence, Exercise Adherence, Compliance)

The extent to which a person follows prescribed medical treatments, exercise routines, or therapy programs. In physical therapy and rehabilitation, adherence is often framed as an individual responsibility, with non-adherence viewed as patient failure. However, accessibility…

Alarm Fatigue(also: Alert Fatigue, Notification Fatigue)

A phenomenon in which an individual becomes desensitised to alarms, alerts, or notifications due to their excessive frequency, repetitive nature, or lack of meaningful context, leading the person to ignore, snooze, or dismiss them. In healthcare and medication management, alarm…

Animal-Assisted Therapy(also: AAT, Pet Therapy)

A non-pharmacological therapeutic approach in which interaction with animals — typically dogs, cats, or horses — is used to support physical, cognitive, social, or emotional health goals. Evidence suggests AAT can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve mood and…

Audiogram(also: Hearing Test Chart, Pure-tone Audiogram)

An audiogram is a graph of a person's hearing thresholds measured across a range of frequencies — typically 250 Hz to 8 kHz — plotted separately for each ear. Thresholds are expressed in decibels hearing level (dB HL) relative to the expected threshold of a young, healthy ear,…

Biopsychosocial Model(also: BPS Model)

The biopsychosocial model is a holistic framework for understanding health and disability that considers the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors in a person's experience. In contrast to the medical model (which focuses on biological deficits) and the…

Care Ecosystem(also: Assistive Technology Ecosystem, AT Ecosystem)

A network of interconnected stakeholders—including clinicians, makers, recipients, caregivers, and organizations—who collectively support the provision, customization, and maintenance of assistive technology. Care ecosystems recognize that successful AT use depends not just on…

Care Partner(also: Care Dyad, Caregiving Relationship)

A term encompassing both the person providing care (caregiver) and the person receiving care (care receiver), emphasizing the collaborative and reciprocal nature of care relationships rather than a one-directional helper-recipient dynamic. The care partner framework recognizes…

Care Staff(also: Care Worker, Direct Care Worker, Personal Care Aide)

Individuals who provide day-to-day personal care and support to residents in care facilities, including assistance with eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, and mobility. Care staff are distinct from medical professionals such as nurses and doctors; they typically receive basic…

Care Technology(also: Care robots, Robots for care, Assistive care technology)

Technology designed to support caregiving activities in institutional or home settings, including robotic systems, monitoring devices, and digital tools that assist care workers and care recipients. Care technology encompasses a broad range of applications from documentation…

Caregiver(also: Family Caregiver, Informal Caregiver, Carer)

A person who provides unpaid assistance with daily activities, emotional support, and care coordination for a family member, friend, or neighbor who has a disability, chronic illness, or age-related needs. Caregivers face significant physical, emotional, financial, and time…

Caregiver Burden(also: Carer Burden, Caregiver Stress)

Caregiver burden refers to the physical, emotional, social, and financial strain experienced by individuals who provide ongoing care to a family member or partner with a disability, chronic illness, or age-related condition such as dementia. Caregivers often experience…

Clinical Reasoning(also: CR)

The cognitive and reflective process by which healthcare clinicians — particularly physical and occupational therapists — individualize care under patient and contextual uncertainty. Clinical reasoning blends analytic processes (hypothetico-deductive generation, pattern…

Clock Drawing Test(also: CDT)

The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is a brief cognitive screening task in which a person is asked to draw a clock face, place the numbers, and set the hands to a specified time (commonly "ten past eleven"). Performance is scored on dimensions such as contour, number placement, and…

Cognitive Rehabilitation(also: Cognitive Rehab, Neuropsychological Rehabilitation)

A structured program of therapeutic activities designed to restore or compensate for cognitive functions impaired by brain injury, stroke, or other neurological conditions. Cognitive rehabilitation targets specific domains such as memory, attention, executive function, language,…

Cognitive Stimulation(also: Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, CST)

A structured programme of activities and discussions designed to engage and stimulate cognitive abilities — including memory, attention, language, and problem-solving — in people with mild to moderate dementia. Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) is one of the few…

Community Care(also: Community-Based Care, Care in the Community)

A policy and practice model in which health and social care services are provided to disabled and elderly people in their own homes or local communities rather than in residential institutions. Community care aims to promote independence, choice, and social inclusion, but can…

Community Health Worker(also: CHW, Lay Health Worker)

A frontline healthcare provider who is a trusted member of the community they serve and who delivers basic health services, education, and referrals, typically with limited formal training. Community health workers extend the reach of formal health systems into homes and…

Cultural Competence(also: Cultural Competency, Cultural Responsiveness)

The ability of service providers, organisations, and systems to effectively deliver services that meet the social, cultural, and linguistic needs of diverse populations. In accessibility and healthcare contexts, cultural competence involves understanding how cultural beliefs,…

Diagnostic Overshadowing

A clinical phenomenon in which the symptoms or behaviours of a person with a disability are incorrectly attributed to their existing disability rather than being recognised as signs of a separate condition. In the context of intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD),…

Digital Health(also: eHealth, Digital Health Intervention)

The use of digital technologies — including mobile apps, social media platforms, wearables, telemedicine, and AI tools — to deliver, coordinate, or support healthcare services and health information. Digital health spans clinical, public health, and community applications, and…

Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale(also: EPDS)

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a validated 10-item self-report screening questionnaire designed to identify symptoms of depression during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Each item is scored 0–3, with a total score of 10 or above typically indicating…

Formal Caregiver(also: Professional Caregiver, Paid Caregiver)

A formal caregiver is a paid, trained professional who provides care — personal, medical, or social — to a disabled, ill, or ageing person, typically through a healthcare organisation, home-care agency, residential facility, or public community-care service. Formal caregivers…

Games for Health(also: Health Games, Therapeutic Games, Medical Games)

Digital games designed to promote health outcomes, deliver therapy, support rehabilitation, or encourage healthy behaviors. Unlike entertainment games, games for health have specific therapeutic or health-promoting objectives integrated into gameplay. In accessibility contexts,…

Gerontechnology(also: Gerontech)

An interdisciplinary field combining gerontology (the study of aging) and technology to design products, services, and environments that support the health, independence, and quality of life of older adults. Gerontechnology addresses the specific needs and abilities of aging…

Harm Reduction

An approach that prioritizes minimizing negative consequences of potentially risky behaviors rather than demanding complete abstinence or compliance with prescribed rules. In accessibility and disability contexts, harm reduction acknowledges that disabled people often face…

Health Monitoring(also: Remote Patient Monitoring, Health Surveillance)

The continuous or periodic collection of health-related data using sensors, wearables, or smart home technology to track an individual's wellbeing and detect problems. Health monitoring systems may track vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure), activity levels, medication…

Healthcare Access(also: Healthcare Accessibility)

The ability of disabled people to obtain timely, appropriate, and respectful healthcare services. Healthcare access barriers include physical inaccessibility of medical facilities, communication barriers with providers, diagnostic overshadowing (where symptoms are attributed to…

Illness Narrative(also: Disease Narrative)

An illness narrative is the story a person and their significant others construct to give coherence to the disruptive experience of illness or diagnosis and its effects on the family system. In the context of cognitive impairment and dementia, the illness narrative typically…

Implementation Science

The study of methods and strategies that promote the systematic uptake of research findings and evidence-based practices into routine clinical, educational, or service settings. Implementation science addresses the well-documented research-to-practice gap: even rigorously…

Manual Muscle Testing(also: MMT, Muscle Strength Testing)

Manual muscle testing (MMT) is a clinical assessment technique used by occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and other healthcare professionals to evaluate the strength of individual muscles or muscle groups. The examiner applies resistance to the patient's movement and…

Medical Maker(also: Clinician-Maker)

A healthcare professional who also engages in fabrication and making activities, bridging the gap between clinical expertise and maker culture. Medical makers combine knowledge of patient safety, rehabilitation, and medical requirements with hands-on skills in 3D printing,…

Medical Making(also: Clinical Making)

The practice of clinicians — particularly occupational therapists, physical therapists, and physicians — creating custom assistive devices for their patients using digital fabrication tools such as 3D printers and CAD software. Medical making extends traditional splinting and…

Medication Management(also: Medication Adherence, Medication Compliance)

The process of overseeing and managing the medications prescribed to an individual, including remembering to take medications at the correct times, in the correct doses, and tracking what has been taken. Medication management is a significant challenge for older adults and…

Non-Pharmacological Intervention(also: NPI, Non-Drug Intervention)

A non-pharmacological intervention (NPI) is any therapeutic approach delivered without medication, including art and music therapy, reminiscence work, cognitive stimulation, exercise programmes, animal-assisted therapy, environmental modifications, structured social activity,…

Occupational Therapist(also: OT, Occupational Therapy)

An occupational therapist is a licensed healthcare professional who helps people participate in the 'occupations' of daily life — self-care, work, school, leisure, and community roles — through therapeutic activity, environmental modification, and assistive technology. In…

Occupational Therapy Assessment(also: OT Assessment, OT Evaluation, Client Evaluation)

Occupational therapy assessment is the systematic process by which an occupational therapist evaluates a client's physical capabilities, cognitive function, emotional state, and ability to perform daily living activities in order to develop an appropriate treatment plan.…

Pediatric Rehabilitation(also: Children's Rehabilitation, Paediatric Rehabilitation)

A specialized area of rehabilitation medicine focused on children and adolescents with disabilities, developmental delays, or injuries. Unlike adult rehabilitation which typically aims to restore lost function, pediatric rehabilitation focuses on developing new skills, fostering…

Perinatal depression(also: PND, Perinatal mood disorder)

Perinatal depression (PND) refers to major depressive episodes that occur during pregnancy (antenatal depression) or in the weeks following childbirth (postpartum depression). It affects up to 10% of individuals during the perinatal period and carries significant societal costs,…

Person-Centred Care(also: Person-Centered Care, Person-Centred Approach)

An approach to care and support that places the individual — their preferences, needs, values, history, and identity — at the centre of all decisions and interactions, rather than focusing primarily on their diagnosis or deficits. Originated in dementia care through the work of…

Physical Therapy(also: Physiotherapy, PT)

A healthcare profession focused on evaluating and treating physical impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities through movement, exercise, manual therapy, and assistive devices. Physical therapists work with people recovering from injuries, surgeries, strokes, and…

Postpartum depression(also: Postnatal depression, PPD)

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a form of clinical depression occurring after childbirth, typically within the first four to six weeks postpartum but potentially developing up to a year after delivery. It is distinguished from the brief "baby blues"—mild mood changes affecting up…

Rehabilitation(also: Rehab, Therapeutic Rehabilitation)

A set of interventions designed to restore or optimize functioning and reduce disability in individuals with health conditions. Rehabilitation may address physical, cognitive, sensory, or communication abilities through exercises, therapies, assistive devices, and environmental…

Remote Monitoring(also: Remote Patient Monitoring, RPM, Remote Care Monitoring)

Remote monitoring is the collection of health, activity, or environmental data from a person in their own home or community setting and its transmission to carers, clinicians, or family members at a distance. In a disability and ageing context, remote monitoring overlaps…

Residential Care(also: Care Home, Nursing Home, Long-Term Care Facility)

A facility that provides housing, personal care, and support services for individuals who cannot live independently due to age, disability, or health conditions. Residential care settings range from assisted living facilities offering minimal support to skilled nursing…

Respite Care(also: Respite, Carer Relief)

Temporary care provided to a person with a disability or chronic condition to give their primary caregiver a break from their caregiving responsibilities. Respite care can take many forms, including in-home care, day programs, overnight stays in care facilities, or social…

Social Prescribing(also: Community Prescribing, Non-Medical Referral)

A non-medical intervention that links clinical practice with community-based activities and support services to improve health and wellbeing. In the context of accessibility, social prescribing connects people living with disabilities or chronic conditions — including dementia —…

Speech Language Pathologist(also: SLP, Speech Therapist, Speech-Language Therapist)

A licensed healthcare professional who specialises in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of communication disorders, including speech, language, voice, fluency, and swallowing difficulties. In accessibility and disability contexts, SLPs play a critical role in supporting…

Speech Therapy(also: Speech-Language Therapy, Speech Pathology, Speech-Language Intervention)

Clinical intervention provided by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, communication, and swallowing disorders. For speech sound disorders, effective treatment requires "frequent, high-intensity, individualized, and naturalistic"…

Speech and Language Therapist(also: SLT, Speech-Language Pathologist, SLP)

A healthcare professional who assesses, diagnoses, and treats communication and swallowing disorders. Speech and language therapists play a critical role in the assistive technology ecosystem by evaluating clients for AAC suitability, recommending appropriate communication…

Speech and Language Therapy(also: SLT, Speech-Language Pathology, SLP)

A healthcare discipline focused on assessing and treating communication difficulties including speech, language, voice, fluency, and swallowing disorders. Speech and language therapists work with people who stammer, those with dysarthria, aphasia, and other conditions affecting…