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GLOBAL
OBSERVATORY
OF LONG-TERM
CARE

Part of the International Long-Term Care Policy Network (ILPN)

 

Yasmin Garcia

Pan American Health Organization

Yasmin Garcia

Yasmin Garcia is an International Consultant for Assistive Technology. Yasmin has worked for different international development organizations in the region of the Americas supporting the coordination of assistive technology provision; wheelchair design, innovation and research; assistive product specifications, assistive product sourcing; and strengthening health systems to improve access to rehabilitation and assistive technology, which includes national situational assessments, policy review, strategic plan development, implementation and monitoring frameworks, and workforce capacity-building.

Yasmin is a Biomedical Engineer from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, where she also pursued a diploma degree in Rehabilitation Engineering. In 2012 she obtained a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Science and Technology from the University of Pittsburgh and was awarded with the Sean and Stephanie Shimada Award and the Pitt Innovator Award.

Yasmin has work in design, development, evaluation and provision of assistive technology in different facilities in the USA. She has provided consultancy services and technical advice to Momentum Wheels for Humanity, where she coordinated research on the impact of the WHO 8-step of wheelchair provision and training of the WHO wheelchair service packages. She also provided advice on product sourcing to the USAID-funded project Consolidating Logistics for Assistive Technology Supply and Provision (CLASP) and guided the design process for a pediatric postural support wheelchair and bathing chair according to international standards. Early in her career, Yasmin worked for the Engineering and Rehabilitation Technology Center of the Universidad Iberoamericana, and coordinated the bachelor’s degree on Bioengineering at the School of Medicine of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico.  Currently, she provides consultancy services to the Pan American Health Organization on strengthening health systems to improve access to assistive technology in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Countries Low- and Middle-Income countries;
Topics Assistive Technologies; Digital Technology; Technology and LTC; Unpaid / informal care;
Methods Case studies; Delphi surveys; Document analysis; Expert consultations; Implementation science; Interviews; Observational studies; Policy analysis; Quantitative data analysis; Quasi-experimental methods; Questionnaire;
Role Advocacy;
Interest Groups Red de Cuidados de Largo Plazo en América Latina y el Caribe; Technology and Long-Term Care;
ORC.IDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9305-2771
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/yasmin-garcia-215ab943/
Research interests

Assistive technology, public health, health system strengthening.
Key publications

Garcia-Mendez Y., D’Innocenzo M., Pearlman J., Vásquez-Gabela S., Rosen P., Rodriguez-Funes M.V., Kirby L.R., Mhatre A. Effects of the WHO 8-step wheelchair-service-delivery process on wheelchair users in El Salvador: a cohort study, Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. 2023 Sep 23;1-12. doi: 10.1080/17483107.2023.2256808.

D’Innocenzo ME, Pearlman JL, Garcia-Mendez Y, Vasquez-Gabela S, Zigler C, Rosen P, Dewi EH, Praptoraharjo I, Mhatre A. Exploratory investigation of the outcomes of wheelchair provision through two service models in Indonesia. PLoS One. 2021 Jun 1;16(6):e0228428. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228428. PMID: 34061868; PMCID: PMC8168880.

Garcia-Mendez Y., Pearlman J.L., Boninger M.L., Cooper R.A. Health risks of vibration exposure to wheelchair users in the community. J Spinal Cord Med. 2013 May. doi: 10.1179/2045772313Y.0000000124.

Toro ML, Garcia Y, Ojeda AM, Dausey D, Pearlman J. Quantitative exploratory evaluation of the frequency, causes and consequences of rehabilitation wheelchair breakdowns delivered at a pediatric clinic in Mexico. Disability, CBR and Inclusive Development. 2012;23(3):48-64.

Garcia-Mendez Y. Assessing the risk of vibration exposure during wheelchair propulsion. Master’s thesis, University of Pittsburgh, 2012.

Garcia-Mendez Y, Pearlman JL, Cooper RA, Boninger ML. Dynamic stiffness and transmissibility of commercially available wheelchair cushions using a laboratory test method. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2012;49(1):7–22.