Mhatre Anand, Dumm Abigail, Zhao Muyun, Parra Rodriguez Lorena
Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, 406E, 453 W 10th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, United States, 1 6574640643.
Instituto Nacional de Geriatría, Mexico City, Mexico.
JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol. 2025 Apr 28;12:e66472. doi: 10.2196/66472.
Wheelchairs are assistive mobility devices known to experience frequent part failures and breakdowns within 6 months of regular use. No tools or technologies exist to monitor the wheelchairs' condition or usage and inform stakeholders and users regarding when or how often they need to undergo servicing to avoid critical part failure.
We aimed to test the association between wheelchair usage and manual wheelchair damage, part failures, and consequences for older wheelchair users and evaluate their preferences for a new wheelchair servicing technology.
A cross-sectional study was performed with older manual wheelchair users atInstituto Nacional de Geriatría in Mexico. Demographic data, wheelchair information, failure counts, and preferences for new technology (sensor and smartphone app for servicing) were collected using surveys. Road shocks experienced by the wheelchair were collected for a week using a sensor.
Ten participants (mean [SD] age, 78.8 [11.8] y; 8 female and 2 male) participated. Seven experienced an average (SD) of 2.86 (1.36) self-reported part failures. Road shocks correlated with self-reported loose brake failures (r(8)=0.58, P=.09), the damaged condition of tires (r(8)=0.61, P=.1), and the damaged condition of brakes (r(8)=0.58, P=.099). No consequences were reported. Part failures increased as self-maintenance occurrences increased (r(9)=0.67, P=.04). More than 8 participants responded that they would like to monitor the wheelchair's condition using the new technology and purchase it at an average (SD) price of US $28.95 (18.13).
In this study, the association between wheelchair usage and failures showed that data-driven wheelchair inspection schedules should be determined through a collaborative approach involving researchers and stakeholders in wheelchair repair provision and older adult users. Older adults are interested in using new technology to engage in wheelchair servicing.
轮椅是一种辅助移动设备，在正常使用6个月内经常出现部件故障和损坏。目前没有工具或技术来监测轮椅的状况或使用情况，也无法告知利益相关者和使用者何时或多久需要进行维修以避免关键部件故障。
我们旨在测试轮椅使用与手动轮椅损坏、部件故障之间的关联，以及对老年轮椅使用者的影响，并评估他们对一种新的轮椅维修技术的偏好。
在墨西哥国立老年医学研究所对老年手动轮椅使用者进行了一项横断面研究。通过调查收集人口统计学数据、轮椅信息、故障计数以及对新技术（用于维修的传感器和智能手机应用程序）的偏好。使用传感器收集轮椅一周内经历的道路震动情况。
10名参与者（平均[标准差]年龄为78.8[11.8]岁；8名女性和2名男性）参与了研究。7人平均（标准差）有2.86（1.36）次自我报告的部件故障。道路震动与自我报告的刹车松动故障（r(8)=0.58，P=0.09）、轮胎损坏状况（r(8)=0.61，P=0.1）以及刹车损坏状况（r(8)=0.58，P=0.099）相关。未报告有任何后果。随着自我维护次数的增加，部件故障也增加（r(9)=0.67，P=0.04）。超过8名参与者表示他们愿意使用新技术监测轮椅状况，并愿意以平均（标准差）28.95美元（18.13美元）的价格购买。
在本研究中，轮椅使用与故障之间的关联表明，应通过一种协作方法来确定数据驱动的轮椅检查时间表，该方法涉及轮椅维修服务的研究人员、利益相关者和老年使用者。老年人对使用新技术参与轮椅维修很感兴趣。
