TY - JOUR
T1 - Wheelchair Repairs, Breakdown, and Adverse Consequences for People With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury
AU - McClure, Laura A.
AU - Boninger, Michael L.
AU - Oyster, Michelle L.
AU - Williams, Steve
AU - Houlihan, Bethlyn
AU - Lieberman, Jesse A.
AU - Cooper, Rory A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, United States Department of Education (grant nos. H133N000019/H133N060019) and Interdisciplinary Research Training in Assistive Technology (grant no. DGE0333420). The material presented here is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the funding agency or the United States Department of Education.
Copyright:
Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2009/12
Y1 - 2009/12
N2 - McClure LA, Boninger ML, Oyster ML, Williams S, Houlihan B, Lieberman JA, Cooper RA. Wheelchair repairs, breakdown, and adverse consequences for people with traumatic spinal cord injury. Objectives: To investigate the frequency of repairs that occurred in a 6-month period and the consequences of breakdowns on wheelchair users living with spinal cord injuries (SCIs), and to determine whether certain wheelchair and subject characteristics are associated with an increased number of repairs and adverse consequences. Design: Convenience sample survey. Setting: Sixteen Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems Centers that are part of the national database funded through the Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Participants: People with SCI who use a wheelchair for more than 40h/wk (N=2213). Intervention: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: The frequency of wheelchair repairs and occurrence of adverse consequences caused by a wheelchair breakdown in a 6-month period. Results: Within a 6-month period, 44.8% of full-time wheelchair users completed a repair, and 8.7% had an adverse consequence occur. People who use power wheelchairs required significantly more repairs (P<.001), and adverse consequences occurred more frequently (P<.001) compared with manual wheelchair users. The presence of power seat functions, and a person's occupational status or sex did not influence the number of repairs or adverse consequences. Conclusions: Frequent repairs and breakdown can negatively impact a person's life by decreasing community participation and threatening health and safety. Mandatory compliance with the American National Standards Institute and the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America standards, changes in insurance reimbursement policy, and patient and clinician education are necessary to reduce the number of repairs and adverse consequences that occur.
AB - McClure LA, Boninger ML, Oyster ML, Williams S, Houlihan B, Lieberman JA, Cooper RA. Wheelchair repairs, breakdown, and adverse consequences for people with traumatic spinal cord injury. Objectives: To investigate the frequency of repairs that occurred in a 6-month period and the consequences of breakdowns on wheelchair users living with spinal cord injuries (SCIs), and to determine whether certain wheelchair and subject characteristics are associated with an increased number of repairs and adverse consequences. Design: Convenience sample survey. Setting: Sixteen Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems Centers that are part of the national database funded through the Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Participants: People with SCI who use a wheelchair for more than 40h/wk (N=2213). Intervention: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: The frequency of wheelchair repairs and occurrence of adverse consequences caused by a wheelchair breakdown in a 6-month period. Results: Within a 6-month period, 44.8% of full-time wheelchair users completed a repair, and 8.7% had an adverse consequence occur. People who use power wheelchairs required significantly more repairs (P<.001), and adverse consequences occurred more frequently (P<.001) compared with manual wheelchair users. The presence of power seat functions, and a person's occupational status or sex did not influence the number of repairs or adverse consequences. Conclusions: Frequent repairs and breakdown can negatively impact a person's life by decreasing community participation and threatening health and safety. Mandatory compliance with the American National Standards Institute and the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America standards, changes in insurance reimbursement policy, and patient and clinician education are necessary to reduce the number of repairs and adverse consequences that occur.
KW - Equipment failure
KW - Reference standards
KW - Rehabilitation
KW - Spinal cord injuries
KW - Wheelchairs
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U2 - 10.1016/j.apmr.2009.07.020
DO - 10.1016/j.apmr.2009.07.020
M3 - Article
C2 - 19969165
AN - SCOPUS:71049138187
VL - 90
SP - 2034
EP - 2038
JO - Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
JF - Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
SN - 0003-9993
IS - 12
ER -