A Comparative Study of Two Pediatric Wheelchairs Based on Therapists\u27 Feedback

Summary Receiving feedback from therapists and seating specialists is an important part of evaluating and providing quantitative data to wheelchair manufacturers servicing less-resourced settings. Introduction There is currently a pressing need for research to enable proper donations of wheelchairs to less resourced settings1. To appropriately serve a population of persons with disabilities in a given location, it is important to understand the specific needs of that population2. People living in less resourced settings have a different lifestyle than those residing in more developed countries, and different functionality and design of wheelchairs is needed3. The goal of our study is to compare two pediatric wheelchairs designed for less-resourced settings using questionnaire feedback from clinicians and seating specialists. Methods After working with each wheelchair a least one hour and being involved with fitting a child to that chair, seating specialists, technicians and therapists will complete a visual analogue scale questionnaire with questions on the following: design and manufacturing of 11 structural regions of the wheelchair and 7 additional questions on the likelihood of the wheelchair’s performance in various categories. Preliminary Results Preliminary data indicate the design and manufacturing of the Hope Haven wheelchair is rated higher than the APDK chair in eight regions of the chair and one performance aspect. Conclusion Our sample group of subjects is very small at this point. Additional data collection is planned in conjunction with a trip to Kenya to complete a long term field study of the two chairs. A parallel study with feedback on energy cost of rolling and Follow-up on wheelchair donations and their functionality is an essential part of helping persons with disabilities in less-resourced settings as well as manufacturers