Ethics and assistive technology: Tools for decision making (June 27, 2023)

Presented by: Dr. Emma M. Smith

Occupational therapists are often called upon to provide assistive technologies to their clients. However, there are a multitude of challenges which come with this responsibility, and these often present ethical dilemmas to the practitioner. Several tools for ethical decision making exist which can be applied to this practice area, and can help guide the occupational therapist in their exploration of ethical challenges.

This webinar will explore approaches to ethical challenges to assistive technology provision for the occupational therapist. This webinar will begin with a review of ethical principles and their theoretical grounding, followed by a discussion of common ethical challenges encountered by occupational therapists when providing assistive technology to clients. Several tools will be introduced to assist in decision making for these challenges. For each tool presented, a case example of the application of the tool will be reviewed. Case examples will be used throughout to explore key concepts. While this webinar is focused on assistive technology, the tools presented may be used across many areas of practice, and may be of interest to a wide range of occupational therapists.

After taking part in this webinar, participants will be able to: 

1. Identify key ethical challenges in common practice examples.
2. Select an appropriate ethical decision making tool to guide thinking when presented with an ethical challenge.
3. Apply an ethical decision making tool to a case example.

Level   Intermediate (3-5 years of experience in this specific area of practice)

Area of practice Acute care, Advocacy, Assistive technology, Autism and neurodiversity, Cognition, Developmental disability, Equipment assessments, Equity and justice, Health promotion and wellness, Independent living and housing, Insurance assessment, Leadership and agency, Pediatrics, Policy development, Role-emerging, Sexuality and gender, Universal design, Veterans Affairs or Armed Forces

Client age group Young children (0-4 yrs), Children (5-12 yrs), Adolescents (13-19 yrs), Adults (20-64 yrs), Older adults (65+ yrs)

Language English

Please note that you will have access to the On-Demand Webinar for a period of one year or until the webinar expiry date listed in the CAOT Store, whichever is sooner.  The terminology used in this webinar is reflective of the CAOT Style Guide at time of the webinar.