Analysis of the Requirements for a Web-Based Forum Among Donors, Vendors, and Consumers of Assistive Technologies in Tanzania
Keywords:
Requirements of a web-based forum, Donors; Vendors, Consumers, Assistive technologies, TanzaniaAbstract
Sharing information related to Assistive technology (AT) is the only reliable approach to narrowing the gap in AT accessibility. In the modern world of telecommunication, the application of the internet was expected to fill in the gap but the gap persists. With all the effort made by world forums, it was expected to have no more problems related to AT accessibility, and cost. This study, therefore, analysed the requirement needed for the development of a reliable web-based forum that could provide a consistent linkage between AT consumers, donors, and vendors for ease of AT accessibility at affordable cost in Tanzania. The study was qualitative and employed questionnaires, observation, and interview methods to collect data from a total of 207 respondents who were purposefully selected, of whom 200 were AT consumers, 5 AT donors, and 2 vendors. Microsoft forms were used to analyze data and the presentation was done descriptively. The study disclosed nine requirements for the development of a web-based forum including location, product description, means of payment and goods transportation, time of delivering goods, types of disability, kind and quantity of AT, means of payment, and price. Having all that information centerd at one site will ensure a constant availability of AT and AT accessibility information among donors, vendors and consumers of AT in Tanzania.
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