Rispin Karen, Riseling Kristofer, Wee Joy
a Department of Biology and Kinesiology , LeTourneau University , Longview , TX , USA.
b School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queens University , Kingston , ON , Canada.
Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. 2018 Feb;13(2):146-156. doi: 10.1080/17483107.2017.1299805. Epub 2017 Mar 22.
Wheelchair breakdowns increase the risk of injury and limit the mobility of wheelchair users. In the endeavour to meet the enormous global need for wheelchairs, manufacturers of wheelchairs for low-resource settings face a cost-benefit tension between affordability and durability. Field studies are needed to provide feedback on durability. Four manufacturers provided cadres of wheelchairs to the organization providing rehabilitation to students at a boarding school for children with disabilities in a low-resource area. The Wheelchair Components Questionnaire for Condition was used to evaluate wheelchair maintenance condition at several time intervals after fitting. Because the maintenance regime was not identical for the four wheelchair types, wheelchair types were not compared. Analysis of variance indicated differences in condition across time and between wheelchair components. Tukey's simultaneous comparison of means indicated that across the entire group, brakes, seats, casters and foot rests received lower ratings than frame. Preliminary data after each iteration of this study were provided to manufactures and resulted in responsive design changes. Implications for Rehabilitation Longitudinal studies with the Wheelchair Components Questionnaire for Condition (WCQc) have enabled manufacturers to make responsive design improvements. Additional studies could be done with other wheelchair types to result in responsive positive design changes for those wheelchairs as well. The WCQc can be used in studies on wheelchair condition even when records of repair history are not reliably available, a situation which is not uncommon in low-resource areas. Data sets collected at an individual clinic uses the WCQc could focus attention on wheelchair components needing regular repair. With that data in mind, the maintenance regime could be modified to respond and in so doing improve wheelchair condition and reduce loss of mobility or risk of injury. Organizations involved in funding wheelchairs for a particular location could use data from longitudinal studies done with the WCQc at that location to inform purchasing decisions.
轮椅故障会增加受伤风险，并限制轮椅使用者的行动能力。为满足全球对轮椅的巨大需求，资源匮乏地区的轮椅制造商在价格可承受性与耐用性之间面临成本效益的权衡。需要进行实地研究以提供有关耐用性的反馈。四家制造商向一个为资源匮乏地区一所残疾儿童寄宿制学校的学生提供康复服务的组织提供了一批轮椅。使用《轮椅部件状况问卷》在安装后的几个时间间隔评估轮椅的维护状况。由于四种轮椅类型的维护制度不同，因此未对轮椅类型进行比较。方差分析表明，不同时间以及轮椅部件之间存在状况差异。Tukey均值同时比较表明，在整个组中，刹车、座椅、脚轮和脚踏板的评分低于车架。本研究每次迭代后的初步数据提供给了制造商，并导致了相应的设计变更。对康复的启示 使用《轮椅部件状况问卷》（WCQc）进行的纵向研究使制造商能够做出相应的设计改进。也可以对其他轮椅类型进行更多研究，从而为这些轮椅带来相应的积极设计变更。即使在资源匮乏地区常见的无法可靠获取维修历史记录的情况下，WCQc也可用于轮椅状况研究。在单个诊所使用WCQc收集的数据集可以将注意力集中在需要定期维修的轮椅部件上。考虑到这些数据，可以修改维护制度以做出响应，从而改善轮椅状况，减少行动能力丧失或受伤风险。为特定地点提供轮椅资金的组织可以使用在该地点使用WCQc进行的纵向研究数据来为采购决策提供参考。
