More than half of wheelchair users with spinal cord injury need repairs at some point every six months, a US study suggests.
Researchers surveyed 533 wheelchair users at nine Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems Centers across North America.
They aimed to determine how often people require wheelchair repairs, and what the consequences were of needing a repair; how long these consequences were experienced; and whether any trends emerged regarding which users, or which types of wheelchairs, are more likely to need repair.
More than half needed wheelchair repairs within the last six months, with significant associated financial cost and personal consequences.
Power wheelchair users were more likely to experience repairs and consequences – which, for many, lasted more than two weeks.
It is estimated that 88 per cent of wheelchair users with SCI will experience a failure at some point, leaving them without a means to get to work, attend medical appointments or educational classes, or maintain a social life outside the home.
In some cases, wheelchair failure can result in injury, with breakdowns making people with spinal cord injury almost twice as likely to be re-hospitalised than those with a working wheelchair.
As well as enabling mobility, and therefore independence, wheelchairs help people with spinal cord injury to manage pain and discomfort by changing position and manage pressure.
Currently in the US, there are no clinical or industry standards for expected wheelchair maintenance, and fewer than 50 per cent of wheelchair users are trained in wheelchair maintenance.
This lack of official guidance prevents the implementation of best practices that could significantly reduce adverse consequences related to wheelchair breakdown and time for repair.
Dr. Dyson-Hudson, co-director of the Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury System, said: “We identified a range of adverse consequences of being without a wheelchair that aligned with the lived experience of wheelchair users.
“The list includes being stranded outside the home or in the home, getting an injury, missing work, school, or a medical appointment, or missing other social events.
“Our hope is that by finding out more about the most common reasons people need repairs, we can take targeted action to reduce the incidence of repair and the associated cost and other consequences.”
Many participants reported that the cost of repair limited participation inside and outside the home, so as to reduce the risk of damaging the wheelchair.
Others reported that the cost of repair prevented them from repairing the wheelchair altogether.
“Based on what we learned in the survey, there are some simple measures, such as providing a borrowed wheelchair to people so they have mobility while their chair is being repaired, that could reduce the adverse consequences,” said Dr. Dyson-Hudson.
“Other facilitators include increasing the speed of repairs, training people in wheelchair maintenance, and routinely scheduling follow-up appointments after a repair is made, so any subsequent problems can be caught early.”
Denise C. Fyffe and Trevor A. Dyson-Hudson of Kessler Foundation co-authored the study, with Lynn A. Worobey (lead author) and Michael L. Boninger, Allen W. Heinemann, Kim D. Anderson and Theresa Berner.
