OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of mobility among long-term care residents who use wheelchairs as their main means of mobility. Based on the Matching Person to Technology Model, we hypothesized that wheelchair-related, personal, and environmental factors would be independent predictors of mobility. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Eleven long-term residential care facilities in the lower mainland of British Columbia, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Residents (N=268): self-responding residents (n=149) and residents who required proxy respondents (n=119). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mobility was measured using the Nursing Home Life-Space Diameter. Standardized measures of personal, wheelchair-related, and environmental factors were administered and sociodemographic data were collected as independent variables. RESULTS: Independent mobility decreased as the distance from the resident's room increased: 63% of participants were independently mobile on their units, 40% were independently mobile off their units within the facilities, and 20% were independently mobile outdoors. For the total sample, the significant predictors of mobility, in descending order of importance, were: wheelchair skills (including the capacity to engage brakes and maneuver), functional independence in activities of daily living, having 4 or more visits per week from friends or family, and use of a power wheelchair. This regression model accounted for 48% of variance in mobility scores. CONCLUSIONS: Limited independent mobility is a common problem among facility residents. Residents may benefit from interventions such as wheelchair skills training or provision of powered mobility, but the effectiveness of these interventions needs to be evaluated.
OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of mobility among long-term care residents who use wheelchairs as their main means of mobility. Based on the Matching Person to Technology Model, we hypothesized that wheelchair-related, personal, and environmental factors would be independent predictors of mobility. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Eleven long-term residential care facilities in the lower mainland of British Columbia, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Residents (N=268): self-responding residents (n=149) and residents who required proxy respondents (n=119). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mobility was measured using the Nursing Home Life-Space Diameter. Standardized measures of personal, wheelchair-related, and environmental factors were administered and sociodemographic data were collected as independent variables. RESULTS: Independent mobility decreased as the distance from the resident's room increased: 63% of participants were independently mobile on their units, 40% were independently mobile off their units within the facilities, and 20% were independently mobile outdoors. For the total sample, the significant predictors of mobility, in descending order of importance, were: wheelchair skills (including the capacity to engage brakes and maneuver), functional independence in activities of daily living, having 4 or more visits per week from friends or family, and use of a power wheelchair. This regression model accounted for 48% of variance in mobility scores. CONCLUSIONS: Limited independent mobility is a common problem among facility residents. Residents may benefit from interventions such as wheelchair skills training or provision of powered mobility, but the effectiveness of these interventions needs to be evaluated.
Authors: Thomas N Bryce; Cecilia Norrbrink Budh; Diana D Cardenas; Marcel Dijkers; Elizabeth R Felix; Nanna B Finnerup; Paul Kennedy; Thomas Lundeberg; J Scott Richards; Diana H Rintala; Philip Siddall; Eva Widerstrom-Noga Journal: J Spinal Cord Med Date: 2007 Impact factor: 1.985
Authors: R Lee Kirby; William C Miller; Francois Routhier; Louise Demers; Alex Mihailidis; Jan Miller Polgar; Paula W Rushton; Laura Titus; Cher Smith; Mike McAllister; Chris Theriault; Kara Thompson; Bonita Sawatzky Journal: Arch Phys Med Rehabil Date: 2015-07-30 Impact factor: 3.966
Authors: Paula W Rushton; Ben W Mortenson; Pooja Viswanathan; Rosalie H Wang; William C Miller; Laura Hurd Clarke Journal: Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol Date: 2016-12-16
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