Stakeholder perspectives on research and development priorities for mobility assistive-technology: a literature review.

Purpose: Over one billion people with disabilities (PWDs) and older adults with mobility impairment are currently in need of assistive technology devices (ATDs) and only 10% of those population have ordinarily access to them. The need for advancement in mobility-assistive technology is growing to address the gap in ATDs provision globally. The purpose of this review is to identify potential future areas of development and research in mobility-assistive technology.

Integration of wheelchair service provision education: current situation, facilitators and barriers for academic rehabilitation programs worldwide.

An estimated 75 million people with disabilities need wheelchairs globally, of whom 5-15% have one. Access to an appropriate wheelchair requires rehabilitation professionals trained to provide wheelchair service. One aim of the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) is to promote and facilitate the integration of wheelchair service provision education into academic rehabilitation programs worldwide.

Wheelchair service provision education in academia.

Background: An estimated 70 million people with disabilities need wheelchairs. To address this global crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed an eight-step wheelchair service provision model to ensure service quality regardless of resource setting. The International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) aims to facilitate the integration of the WHO eight-step model into professional rehabilitation programmes.

Development of a wheelchair maintenance training programme and questionnaire for clinicians and wheelchair users.

Unlabelled: Purpose of state: The aims of this study were to develop a Wheelchair Maintenance Training Programme (WMTP) as a tool for clinicians to teach wheelchair users (and caregivers when applicable) in a group setting to perform basic maintenance at home in the USA and to develop a Wheelchair Maintenance Training Questionnaire (WMT-Q) to evaluate wheelchair maintenance knowledge in clinicians, manual and power wheelchair users.

Methods: The WMTP and WMT-Q were developed through an iterative process.

Results: A convenience sample of clinicians (n = 17), manual wheelchair (n ∞ 5), power wheelchair users (n = 4) and caregivers (n = 4) provided feedback on the training programme.

Type and Frequency of Reported Wheelchair Repairs and Related Adverse Consequences Among People With Spinal Cord Injury.

Objective: To investigate the frequency and types of wheelchair repairs and associated adverse consequences.

Design: Convenience cross-sectional sample survey.

Setting: Nine Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems Centers.

The impact of the World Health Organization 8-steps in wheelchair service provision in wheelchair users in a less resourced setting: a cohort study in Indonesia.

Background: For people who have a mobility impairment, access to an appropriate wheelchair is an important step towards social inclusion and participation. The World Health Organization Guidelines for the Provision of Manual Wheelchairs in Less Resourced Settings emphasize the eight critical steps for appropriate wheelchair services, which include: referral, assessment, prescription, funding and ordering, product preparation,fitting and adjusting, user training, and follow-up and maintenance/repairs. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the provision of wheelchairs according to the World Health Organization's service provision process by United Cerebral Palsy Wheels for Humanity in Indonesia affects wheelchair recipients compared to wait-listed controls.

The impact of transfer setup on the performance of independent wheelchair transfers.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine how selected environmental factors affect transfers and to compare our results to the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG).

Background: Few data are available to support standards development related to transfers in the built environment.

Method: Participants were 120 wheeled mobility device (WMD) users who transferred to and from a modular transfer station that consisted of a height-adjustable platform with a lateral grab bar, optional obstacle to the transfer, and an optional height-adjustable front grab bar.

A pneumatic glove and immersive virtual reality environment for hand rehabilitative training after stroke.

While a number of devices have recently been developed to facilitate hand rehabilitation after stroke, most place some restrictions on movement of the digits or arm. Thus, a novel glove was developed which can provide independent extension assistance to each digit while still allowing full arm movement. This pneumatic glove, the PneuGlove, can be used for training grasp-and-release movements either with real objects or with virtual objects in a virtual reality environment.

Use of a pneumatic glove for hand rehabilitation following stroke.

Hand impairment is common following stroke and is often resistant to traditional therapy methods. Successful interventions have stressed the importance of repeated practice to facilitate rehabilitation. Thus, we have developed a servo-controlled glove to assist extension of individual digits to promote practice of grasp-and-release movements with the hand.