The challenges and opportunities of collaboration between design and occupational therapy for assistive technology

Design practices are being implemented to address wicked problems in healthcare but are underutilised in assistive technology. This thesis explores how to improve assistive technology outcomes through collaboration between people with lived experience of disability, occupational therapists and design professionals. The findings demonstrate that assistive technology issues are wicked problems and that the current scope of practice for design within assistive technology is limited and may benefit from being extended to process and systemic levels. However, this must be tempered through genuine collaboration with people with lived experience of disability and leveraging the clinical experience of occupational therapists.