Assistive technologies for people with cognitive impairments – which factors influence technology acceptance?

Abstract

While in the general field of acceptance research convincing and empirically well-tested models for the acceptance of technical systems exist, only a few studies have been carried out in the area of acceptance of assistive software systems. Appropriate acceptance models play an important role, especially for user-centered and participative software development and quality assurance. In this article, the most important models from general acceptance research are briefly introduced. Based on the results of an acceptance study of an app for independent media access for users with cognitive impairments, a proposal for an acceptance model of assistive technology was developed, in which personal and environmental factors are considered more strongly than in the classical acceptance models.