Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
FIOS DME Repair Training LLC, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Assist Technol. 2023 Jul 4;35(4):312-320. doi: 10.1080/10400435.2022.2044407. Epub 2022 Mar 23.
Wheeled mobility and seating (WMS) devices allow users to achieve greater mobility independence. Previous studies determined that 53% of wheelchair users required one or more repairs over a 6-month period; however, there are a limited number of studies that have evaluated types of repairs. The purpose of this study was to describe the types of manual wheelchair, power wheelchair, and scooter repairs within the Wheelchair Repair Registry (WRR) and examine the association between WMS devices and the frequency of repairs. A dataset of 4,645 devices distributed in the United States was collected from equipment suppliers who performed and logged community-based wheelchair repair services. The results demonstrated common repairs found across devices were within the wheels/tires/forks and batteries/cables categories. Device type was the most significant predictor of variance in the number of repairs. Customizable manual wheelchairs, tilt-in-space, Groups 2 & 3 power wheelchairs, and scooters were associated with higher number of repairs compared to non-customizable manual wheelchairs, pediatric, heavy-duty manual wheelchairs, and Group 4 power wheelchairs. The higher failure rate found in specific devices may be associated with a population of more active users, environment/conditions where equipment is used, time spent in equipment, additional features on device, or lower durability.
轮式移动和座椅（WMS）设备可帮助使用者实现更高的移动独立性。先前的研究确定，53%的轮椅使用者在 6 个月内需要进行一次或多次维修；然而，评估维修类型的研究数量有限。本研究的目的是描述轮椅维修登记处（WRR）中手动轮椅、电动轮椅和电动滑板车的维修类型，并研究 WMS 设备与维修频率之间的关联。该数据集包含在美国分发的 4645 台设备，这些设备来自提供并记录社区轮椅维修服务的设备供应商。结果表明，在各种设备中发现的常见维修都在车轮/轮胎/叉和电池/电缆等类别中。设备类型是影响维修次数差异的最主要因素。与非定制手动轮椅、儿科、重型手动轮椅和 4 级电动轮椅相比，可定制手动轮椅、空间倾斜、2 级和 3 级电动轮椅以及电动滑板车与更高的维修次数相关。特定设备中发现的更高故障率可能与更活跃的使用者群体、设备使用的环境/条件、设备使用时间、设备上的附加功能或较低的耐用性有关。
