Premier Assistive Products Database and Hotline
Since 1992, Macro has managed ABLEDATA, the premier source for information on assistive technology and rehabilitation equipment for domestic and international sources. Sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education, this searchable database contains more than 20,000 assistive technology products from some 3,000 companies. It serves consumers, organizations, professionals, and caregivers within the United States. ABLEDATA is the largest and most comprehensive source of its kind, providing information about commercially available, as well as custom-built and do-it-yourself, assistive devices. Macro staff members acquire, screen, catalog, and index new product data and update information on products already contained in the database. We add about 1,000 new products to the database annually as well as update approximately 10,000 existing product records. While the ABLEDATA database is available via the World Wide Web, staff also respond via phone directly to information queries from an extensive, nationwide audience of disabled individuals, their families, rehabilitation counselors and administrators, special educators, medical and paramedical professionals, local and State government officials, Federal personnel, and the general public.

Long-Term Care Surveys
On the State level, beginning in 1998, Macro fielded the first in a series of three annual consumer perceptions surveys for the Vermont Department of Aging and Disabilities (VTDAD). The survey is conducted with consumers of long-term care services throughout Vermont, including Adult Day Services, Medicaid Waiver Services, Homemaker Services, and Attendant Services. Due to the physical and mental limitations experienced by many in this particular survey population, Macro customized its survey approach to reduce respondent burden and ensure a high response rate by using both mail and telephone, including a large print booklet for the mail portion of the survey, allowing respondents who are unable personally to complete the survey to use proxy interviews and allowing respondents to complete the survey at a time convenient for them.