Home Modification Assessment Tool
l Applied Mechanics Mechanical Design Information Systems Reliability and Human Engineering Electronic Systems Applied Systems Logistics Services
RHD Division Homepage © 1987-2010 Mercer Engineering Research Center 135 Osigian Blvd. • Warner Robins, GA 31088 info@merc-mercer.org • www.merc-mercer.org • 478.953.6800 We do not have any pictures available for this project. The Home Modification Assessment Tool is a Microsoft Access application that uses a custom-designed Visual Basic user interface. The decision tree-based evaluation interface provides technologists a systematic means of isolating areas of functional limitation within the home, and then working with the client and the counselor to identify appropriate potential solutions. The reporting tools designed into the program give the user the ability to easily see and understand the types of accommodations available to accommodate each functional limitation, with pictures of specific devices and modifications so there will be no surprises during or after the evaluation. Copious notations are provided within the evaluation and report areas to help guide the technologists and consumers in making choices that best fit their needs. The Home Modification Assessment Tool (HMAT) was developed by Mercer Engineering Research Center under a contract with the Georgia Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), the organization responsible for vocational rehabilitation services in this state. The tool was developed to provide rehabilitation professionals, having a wide range of experience involving home modifications, with a resource for helping their clients make valid decisions regarding how best to modify their home for improved function. Home modification evaluations require the synthesis of many design and technology decisions from multiple data sources. These sources include: consumer data (problems with home activities requiring accommodation, functional abilities, prognosis, anthropometrics, mobility technology specifications, level of independence), house data (roof construction, foundation design, frame construction), site data (entry grades, pathway quality), and trade-off data (family vs. consumer needs, DRS funding vs. other funding, benefit vs. cost).