DEEP

In the current social context of the world's aging population, the number of people with disabilities is set to increase. According to the Survey on Health and Social Inclusion in Europe (Eurostat...

DEEP's objective has been to create a training model that can bring together professionals from different professional categories, overcoming the current logic that disability is an issue limited to specific sectors. This training model had the following specific objectives: -to develop skills in the field of 3D prototyping; -to bring the social-health world closer to the potential of using 3d prints in the world of disability; -to enable makers to acquire and increase in social-health professionals, the relational and pro-social skills that are fundamental to working with people with disabilities; -to arrive at the description of units of learning outcomes that can be evaluated and, therefore, used in description and evaluation of professional profiles. The direct target group of DEEP was composed of: health professionals, occupational therapists and makers. Only with a change in the logic of taking care of the disabled person, which is no longer only merely 'welfare,' is it possible to move in the right and authentic direction of social inclusion. Inclusion is effective only with the direct participation of marginalized and discriminated people (Griffo, 2007).

DEEP has created a training model that, by bringing together knowledge and skills of professionals from fields that are formally distant, has encouraged the innovative use of 3D printers in the world of disability. To this end, the project envisaged 3 macro-areas of activities that contributed to the optimal achievement of the objectives and results: 1. Creation of the DEEP training package, also considering the transfer and adaptation of best practices that the different partners involved have tested effectively within their activities. 2. Training activities of the multi-actor target this not only increased the knowledge and skills of professionals, but also supported them to implement the model in the field with people with disabilities. 3. Field experimentation involving in a joint work, based on the logic of project work, people with disabilities and different professionals trained in order to make prototypes and devices through the use of the 3D printer.

Project outcomes can be divided according to DEEP's direct and indirect target group. With respect to the direct target (health professionals, occupational therapists, makers), we found: - Increased knowledge on the topic of disability; - Increased knowledge and skills in the area of 3D prototyping; - Enhancement of pro-social and motivational skills as a way of approach in dealing with people with disabilities (assessments made with questionnaires designed in R1, feedback from professionals and observations). With respect to the indirect target (people with disabilities), we found: -Increased sense of self-efficacy through active participation in the design and creation of the aids(assessed through observation); Tangible results were: - methodological guidelines and training materials for training a multi-actor target group consisting of health care professionals, occupational therapists and makers; - online course available as OER; - guidelines for implementing the model in the field; - report on the outcome of the training of trainers; - report on the outcomes of the field experimentation of the DEEP model.