Facilitators and Barriers to Participation Survey for People with Mobility Limitations: Italian Localisation of the FABS/M Instrument

摘要

This article deals with the Italian localisation of the FABS/M [1] questionnaire, a new instrument measuring the effectiveness of mobility assistive technology devices. The FABS/M was developed in the United States within the framework of the ICF model. The questionnaire was translated into Italian and the resulting text was submitted to a panel of 6 experts including physiotherapists and biomedical engineers. After revision the questionnaire was field-tested by administering it to a cohort of 22 users of three types of assistive devices. The resulting questionnaire proved to be understandable and usable in the Italian context. The instrument showed to be suitable to assess environmental facilitators and barriers, helping to understand which items obstacle participation of individuals with lower limb mobility impairments and limitations in each one's real life situations. Information about obstacles and facilitators to participation can be used to improve measures and regulations concerning buildings, public places, transportation and personal attitude toward individuals with disability. While these improvements are made, adaptations of the assistive technologies service delivery system can be carried out to compensate for the gap.