Emergency evacuation readiness of full-time wheelchair users with spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the percentage of full-time wheelchair users with spinal cord injuries who felt they could evacuate from various locations, and the percentage who have a plan for evacuation. Study results will help clinicians and emergency officials understand needs related to evacuation preparedness.

DESIGN

Convenience sample survey.

SETTING

Six Spinal Cord Injury Model System centers, part of the national database funded through the Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

PARTICIPANTS

People (N=487) with spinal cord injuries who use a wheelchair more than 40 hours a week.

INTERVENTIONS

Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The percentage of wheelchair users who felt they would be able to safely evacuate, had a plan for safe evacuation, or reported a need for assistive technology and human assistance to evacuate from various locations in the event of an emergency.

RESULTS

The highest percentage of participants felt they would be able to safely evacuate and had a plan for work evacuation. The lowest percentage of participants reported they could evacuate from their city/town in the event of an emergency and had a plan to evacuate their city/town in the event of a natural disaster. A large difference exists between the percentage of participants who felt they could evacuate and those who have a plan for evacuation.

CONCLUSIONS

A large discrepancy exists between the perception that one can evacuate and actually having a plan. The perception that one can evacuate without a plan or the use of assistive technology is an area of concern that must be further addressed by educators. Education must emphasize the need to have a defined evacuation plan and effective utilization of assistive technology.