[Seating, postural support, safety and satisfaction of users of wheelchairs in a CABA Rehabilitation Institute. Descriptive study].

Introduction: In the world, 75 million people require a wheelchair (W/C) but only between 5% and 15% of them have one. The WHO defines a W/C as adequate if it meets the needs of the user and their environment, offers appropriate seating and postural support and if it is safe and durable.

Objective: The primary objective is to describe the seating, postural support and safety of W/Cs users who attend the I.Re.P kinesiology service. The secondary objective is to learn about their satisfaction with their W/Cs and related services.

Subjects And Method: The subjects were W/C users who attend the I.Re.P. kinesiology service. The W/Cs were evaluated following the WHO guidelines, and the satisfaction using the QUEST 2.0 questionnaire.

Results: Within 30 patients, 21 were men aged around 48.17 years. Only 1 subject had all the correct measures of safety, seating and posture adjustment. 6 had all the correct measures for an adequate seating and 5 had all the safety measures. Regarding satisfaction, high scores have been found with respect to W/C and low scores with respect to related services. All in all, the total satisfaction got mostly medium and high scores.

Conclusion: Only 1 subject out of the 30 evaluated complied with all the seating, postural adjustment and safety requirements necessary to consider an adequate W/C. Most subjects reported being more satisfied with their W/C than with the related services.