Wheelchair Repairs, Breakdown, and Adverse Consequences for People With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

McClure, LA and Boninger, ML and Oyster, ML and Williams, S and Houlihan, B and Lieberman, JA and Cooper, RA (2009) Wheelchair Repairs, Breakdown, and Adverse Consequences for People With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 90 (12). 2034 - 2038. ISSN 0003-9993

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Abstract

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. © 2009 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.

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Details

Item Type:	Article
Status:	Published
Creators/Authors:	Creators Email Pitt Username ORCID McClure, LA Boninger, ML boninger@pitt.edu BONINGER Oyster, ML Williams, S Houlihan, B Lieberman, JA Cooper, RA RCOOPER@pitt.edu RCOOPER
Centers:	Other Centers, Institutes, Offices, or Units > Human Engineering Research Laboratories
Date:	1 December 2009
Date Type:	Publication
Journal or Publication Title:	Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume:	90
Number:	12
Page Range:	2034 - 2038
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1016/j.apmr.2009.07.020
Schools and Programs:	School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences > Rehabilitation Science and Technology
Refereed:	Yes
ISSN:	0003-9993
MeSH Headings:	Adult; Electrical Equipment and Supplies; Equipment Failure Analysis; Female; Humans; Male; Questionnaires; Spinal Cord Injuries--epidemiology; Wheelchairs
PubMed ID:	19969165
Date Deposited:	15 Oct 2012 16:02
Last Modified:	30 Oct 2018 12:58
URI:	http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/id/eprint/15824

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