A longitudinal study assessing the maintenance condition of cadres of four types of wheelchairs provided in low-resource areas
| Autor: | Joy Wee, Kristofer Riseling, Karen Rispin |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Design modification
030506 rehabilitation medicine.medical_specialty Longitudinal study Maintenance Low resource Computer science medicine.medical_treatment Biomedical Engineering Physical Therapy Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation 03 medical and health sciences Speech and Hearing 0302 clinical medicine Wheelchair Physical medicine and rehabilitation medicine Humans Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Longitudinal Studies 030212 general & internal medicine Child Poverty Rehabilitation Equipment Design equipment and supplies Disabled Children Purchasing nervous system diseases body regions Wheelchairs Boarding school 0305 other medical science human activities |
| Zdroj: | Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. 13:146-156 |
| ISSN: | 1748-3115 1748-3107 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/17483107.2017.1299805 |
| Popis: | Wheelchair breakdowns increase the risk of injury and limit the mobility of wheelchair users. In the endeavour to meet the enormous global need for wheelchairs, manufacturers of wheelchairs for low-resource settings face a cost-benefit tension between affordability and durability. Field studies are needed to provide feedback on durability. Four manufacturers provided cadres of wheelchairs to the organization providing rehabilitation to students at a boarding school for children with disabilities in a low-resource area. The Wheelchair Components Questionnaire for Condition was used to evaluate wheelchair maintenance condition at several time intervals after fitting. Because the maintenance regime was not identical for the four wheelchair types, wheelchair types were not compared. Analysis of variance indicated differences in condition across time and between wheelchair components. Tukey's simultaneous comparison of means indicated that across the entire group, brakes, seats, casters and foot rests received lower ratings than frame. Preliminary data after each iteration of this study were provided to manufactures and resulted in responsive design changes. Implications for Rehabilitation Longitudinal studies with the Wheelchair Components Questionnaire for Condition (WCQc) have enabled manufacturers to make responsive design improvements. Additional studies could be done with other wheelchair types to result in responsive positive design changes for those wheelchairs as well. The WCQc can be used in studies on wheelchair condition even when records of repair history are not reliably available, a situation which is not uncommon in low-resource areas. Data sets collected at an individual clinic uses the WCQc could focus attention on wheelchair components needing regular repair. With that data in mind, the maintenance regime could be modified to respond and in so doing improve wheelchair condition and reduce loss of mobility or risk of injury. Organizations involved in funding wheelchairs for a particular location could use data from longitudinal studies done with the WCQc at that location to inform purchasing decisions. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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