PURPOSE: Provision of a wheelchair has immediate intuitive benefits; however, it can be difficult to evaluate which wheelchair and seating components best meet an individual's needs. As well, funding agencies now prefer evidence of outcomes; and therefore measurement upon prescription of a wheelchair or its components is essential to demonstrate the efficacy of intervention. As no existing tool can provide individualized goal-oriented measure of outcome after wheelchair prescription, a research project was undertaken to create the Wheelchair Outcome Measure (WhOM). METHOD: A mixed methods research design was employed to develop the instrument, which used in-depth interviews of prescribers, individuals who use wheelchairs and their associates, supplemented by additional questions in which participant preferences in key areas of the measure were quantified. RESULTS: The WhOM is a client-specific wheelchair intervention measurement tool that is based on the World Health Organization's International Classification of Function, Disability, and Health. It identifies desired outcomes at a participation level and also acknowledges concerns about body structure and function. CONCLUSION: The new outcome instrument will allow clients to identify and evaluate the outcomes they wish to achieve with their wheelchairs and seating and provide clinicians a way to quantify outcomes of their interventions in a way that is meaningful to the client and potential funding sources.
PURPOSE: Provision of a wheelchair has immediate intuitive benefits; however, it can be difficult to evaluate which wheelchair and seating components best meet an individual's needs. As well, funding agencies now prefer evidence of outcomes; and therefore measurement upon prescription of a wheelchair or its components is essential to demonstrate the efficacy of intervention. As no existing tool can provide individualized goal-oriented measure of outcome after wheelchair prescription, a research project was undertaken to create the Wheelchair Outcome Measure (WhOM). METHOD: A mixed methods research design was employed to develop the instrument, which used in-depth interviews of prescribers, individuals who use wheelchairs and their associates, supplemented by additional questions in which participant preferences in key areas of the measure were quantified. RESULTS: The WhOM is a client-specific wheelchair intervention measurement tool that is based on the World Health Organization's International Classification of Function, Disability, and Health. It identifies desired outcomes at a participation level and also acknowledges concerns about body structure and function. CONCLUSION: The new outcome instrument will allow clients to identify and evaluate the outcomes they wish to achieve with their wheelchairs and seating and provide clinicians a way to quantify outcomes of their interventions in a way that is meaningful to the client and potential funding sources.
Authors: Olga J E Kilkens; Marcel W M Post; Annet J Dallmeijer; Henk A M Seelen; Lucas H V van der Woude Journal: Clin Rehabil Date: 2003-07 Impact factor: 3.477
Authors: Claudine Auger; Louise Demers; Isabelle Gélinas; François Routhier; W Ben Mortenson; William C Miller Journal: J Rehabil Med Date: 2010-06 Impact factor: 2.912
Authors: W Ben Mortenson; Louise Demers; Paula W Rushton; Claudine Auger; Francois Routhier; William C Miller Journal: Arch Phys Med Rehabil Date: 2015-09-25 Impact factor: 3.966
Authors: W Ben Mortenson; Sharon Jang; Charlie H Goldsmith; Laura Hurd Clarke; Sandra Hobson; Richelle Emery Journal: Trials Date: 2017-05-25 Impact factor: 2.279