12. Support and Services Not Available
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12.1 Support Not Obtainable
Survey respondents were asked if there was any equipment, service or other resources ('support') that they required but were unable to get, for whatever reason.
Eighty percent of respondents report not requiring any additional 'support' to that which they were already receiving. However, we have concerns that this may potentially understate need for a number of reasons:
1. Firstly, this issue was assessed through a single open-ended question (covering equipment, support and services) at the end of the questionnaire, where respondents were becoming fatigued after almost one hour of discussion in many cases.
2. For many respondents, the preceding questions emphasised all the help and assistance they already receive and may have made it more difficult to specify additional requirements.
3. Since the question was unprompted, it is likely to capture only the key concerns of respondents. A prompted question which referred in each area to what respondents currently have or receive, what they would prefer to have or receive, the barriers to achieving this and the strength of need or preference would have been a far superior approach. However, the survey length precluded this approach.
We note that more detailed questioning of this nature in relation to transport revealed more significant levels of desire to make more journeys. It is worth considering more comprehensive research into this area in the future to provide a more definite picture.
Most 'support' identified as being inaccessible by 1% or more all respondents comprises equipments items. Equipment items identified include: enlarged screen/scanner/CCTV (4% of all respondents), talking equipment (4%), special glasses or contact lens (2%), computer software (2%), improved lighting (2%), computers (1%), magnifying equipment, (1%) and mobility scooter (1%).
Being too expensive or unaffordable is clearly the most common reason why required 'support' is considered inaccessible. Over two thirds (68%) of respondents identifying 'support' as being inaccessible cite affordability as the reason for this. Financial barriers are particularly common for provincial respondents, with 89% of these respondents identifying unmet 'support' needs, citing cost as a reason.
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Other financial based reasons identified include uncertainty as to if and where financial assistance is available (4%) and because the 'support' required is ineligible for financial assistance (3%).
Of the two equipment items most commonly identified as being inaccessible (enlarged screen, scanner, CCTV and talking appliances), the lack of affordability accounts for almost all the reasons given for inaccessibility (94% and 92% respectively).
While acknowledging the limitations of this question, overall findings are similar to those derived from the 2001 New Zealand Disability Survey. In this survey, 21% of blind and vision impaired adults in households reported having an unmet need for some type of equipment or service. Cost barriers were again identified as the most common reason for this need (Statistics NZ, 2003).
Limitations, uncertainty or difficulties in the provision of 'support' are also common reasons for inaccessibility. This includes: uncertainty whether the required 'support' exists (29%); the unavailability of required 'support' in the local area (12%); transport or travel distance barriers (8%); the inappropriateness or dislike of 'support' that is provided (6%); and uncertainty about how to access required support (1%).