Assessing the Influence of Wheelchair On Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury Using a Measure of Participation

The purpose of the first study was to investigate the effect of manual and power wheelchairson the frequency of community activities of individuals with varying levels of spinal cord injury(SCI). One hundred and five individuals with SCI who use wheelchairs for mobility providedparticipated in the final analysis. A written survey that recorded assistive technology (AT) usagein daily activities, called Participation Survey/Mobility (PARTS/M), was distributed amongclients from Pittsburgh and Saint Louis. Results showed that individuals who use powerwheelchairs visit their friends and dine out much less than individuals who use manualwheelchairs. In addition, individuals with tetraplegia reported going to the doctor's office lessfrequently than individuals with paraplegia. Therefore, individuals with SCI with varied level ofinjury and different mobility devices, experience different types of frequencies of public placesand community participation.The purpose of the second study was to investigate the effect of wheelchairs, the physical andsocial barriers on community participation among individuals with SCI. One hundred and fiveindividuals with SCI who use wheelchairs for mobility participated in the data analyses. Awritten survey, called Facilitators and Barriers Survey/Mobility (FABS/M) was distributedamong clients from Pittsburgh and Saint Louis. Results showed that a greater number ofindividuals with tetraplegia who use power wheelchairs (TP) reported that lack of personalassistance as a perceived social barrier that limits their participation in their place of employmentASSESSING THE INFLUENCE OF WHEELCHAIR ON INDIVIDUALS WITHSPINAL CORD INJURY USING A MEASURE OF PARTICIPATIONEliana C. Ferretti, PhDUniversity of Pittsburgh, 2007when compared to those individuals with paraplegia who use manual wheelchairs (PM),individuals with paraplegia who use power wheelchairs (PP) and individuals with tetraplegiawho use manual wheelchairs (TM). A greater number of individuals with TM and PM reportedthat the place of employment does not limit them compared to those PP and TP. In addition, agreater number of individuals with PP and TP indicated that lack of personal assistance as aperceived social barrier that limits their participation in the grocery store when compared tothose with PM and TM. Furthermore, the perceived influence of the physical environment onparticipation in activities within the home and community was also demonstrated.The purpose of the third study was to investigate if the acquisition of new manual and powerwheelchairs delivered by specialized AT clinic will change the frequency of participating inactivities within the community of individuals with SCI and reduce the number of perceivedlimitations to participation over time. No significant difference between participants whoreceived new wheelchairs delivered by specialized AT clinic and those who have received newequipment from a non-specialized AT clinic on the perception of frequency of communityactivities, satisfaction of community activities and number of physical and social barriers werefound. The process of wheelchair service delivery has been shown to play an essential role inwheelchair related outcomes. However, the wheelchair service delivery may just be one of thefactors that affect the individual's community participation.The purpose of the fourth study was to investigate if there is a correlation between mobilitycharacteristics (distance traveled, speed, number of starts and stops and drive time) and thefrequency of community activities of individuals with SCI as measured by the PARTS/M anddata logger device. A significant negative correlation (r=-.783, p=.013) was found betweennumber of start and stops during week days and community participation scores, indicating thatindividuals who use power wheelchairs who have less number of starts and stops have higherlevel of community participation. A significant positive correlation (r=.772, p=.015) was foundbetween daily drive minutes during week days and community participation scores, indicatingthat individuals who use power wheelchairs who drive their wheelchair more have higher levelof community participation. In addition, in the manual wheelchair group, a significant positivecorrelation was found between speed during week days (r=.760, p=.047) and communityparticipation, indicating that individuals who travel at a higher speed have higher levels ofcommunity participation.