Psychosocial Impact of Powered Wheelchair, Users’ Satisfaction and Their Relation to Social Participation
by
Inês Domingues 1, João Pinheiro 1
, João Silveira 1,*, Patrícia Francisco 2, Jeffrey Jutai 3 and Anabela Correia Martins 2
Inês Domingues 1, João Pinheiro 1, João Silveira 1,*, Patrícia Francisco 2, Jeffrey Jutai 3 and Anabela Correia Martins 2
1
Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-370 Coimbra, Portugal
2
IPC ESTeSC Coimbra Health School, Physiotherapy Department, 3046-854 Coimbra, Portugal
3
LIFE Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Technologies 2019, 7(4), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies7040073
Received: 21 March 2019 / Revised: 8 October 2019 / Accepted: 9 October 2019 / Published: 10 October 2019
(This article belongs to the Section Assistive Technologies)
Several studies showed positive effects of assistive technologies on psychosocial impact and participation of adults with mobility impairments. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychosocial and participation impact of powered wheelchairs. Participants were thirty persons with disabilities who use powered wheelchairs with diverse medical conditions. The Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology, the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale and the Activities and Participation Profile Related to Mobility were used, in addition to demographic, clinical and wheelchair related questions. The participants were satisfied with both the assistive technology and related services, with the lowest satisfaction scores belonging to those who had been using their wheelchairs for a longer period of time. We noticed significant restrictions in participation mostly among persons with longer wheelchair utilization. The most satisfied were the ones with better performance in terms of social participation. Psychosocial scores showed a positive impact with higher adaptability among persons who transitioned from a manual compared to those who already had a powered wheelchair. There was a positive psychosocial impact and therefore an increase in quality of life of its users.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Domingues, I.; Pinheiro, J.; Silveira, J.; Francisco, P.; Jutai, J.; Correia Martins, A. Psychosocial Impact of Powered Wheelchair, Users’ Satisfaction and Their Relation to Social Participation. Technologies 2019, 7, 73.
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