An exploration of the experiences of Brazilian hemiplegic manual wheelchair users.

Purpose: The objective of this research was to explore the experiences of 11 hemiplegic users with their manual wheelchairs.Method: The phenomenological approach explored the subjective experiences of Brazilian hemiplegic manual wheelchair users in order to identify and describe the factors that affected their relationship with their wheelchair. Using in depth semistructured interviews. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The health records from the physiotherapy service of the Health Department of Itajaí were reviewed to identify hemiplegic wheelchair users.Results: The results identified 4 key themes: heteronomy, inadequate/inappropriateness of wheelchair design, poor state of the pavements and roads prohibiting wheelchair use and lack of suitable wheelchair provision.Conclusion: The findings confirm that current manual wheelchair provision, both new and secondhand, for this group of users is inadequate and they highlighted the issues and problems arising from the current provision. A novel finding was the identification of heteronomy that resulted from the provision of unsuitable equipment.Implication for rehabilitationAdding into physiotherapy and occupational therapy education, the importance of matching technology to the user in their environment.The importance of involving the user in decisions made about wheelchair provision.Sharing findings with wheelchair manufacturers to improve manual wheelchair design for hemiplegic users.

A percepção de qualidade de vida de pessoas com deficiência motora: diferenças entre cadeirantes e deambuladores / La percepción de la calidad de vida de las personas con discapacidad motora: las diferencias entre los con silla de ruedas y los deambuladores / Quality of life perception of people with motor disability: differences between wheelchair dependent and ambulatory patients

RESUMO A rotina das pessoas com deficiência física inclui o uso de diferentes recursos de tecnologia assistiva, que podem auxiliar em seu desenvolvimento físico e intelectual, afetando diretamente sua qualidade de vida. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a percepção da qualidade de vida de pessoas cadeirantes e deambuladoras com deficiência física no município de Itajaí, Santa Catarina. Trata-se de uma pesquisa descritiva de corte transversal e caráter exploratório quantitativo, cuja. amostra foi constituída por 163 participantes (91 cadeirantes e 72 deambuladores), que responderam a um questionário estruturado com informações socioeconômicas e de saúde e ao instrumento do World Health Organization Quality of Life Instruments (WHOQOL-bref), para mensurar a qualidade de vida. Na avaliação dos domínios físico e psicológico não foram observadas diferenças significativas entre os dois grupos, portanto a percepção da qualidade de vida não foi afetada pela utilização da cadeira de rodas. No entanto, examinando-se o domínio de relações sociais e meio ambiente, a percepção da qualidade de vida foi significativamente menor para cadeirantes com paresias, em relação às plegias e à amputação.

RESUMEN La rutina diaria de las personas con discapacidad incluye el uso de recursos de tecnología asistencial diversos, que les pueden ayudar en su desarrollo físico e intelectual, afectando directamente su calidad de vida. Este estudio pretende evaluar la percepción de la calidad de vida de las personas en sillas de ruedas y las deambuladoras con discapacidades físicas en la ciudad de Itajaí, Santa Catarina (Brasil). Se trata de un estudio descriptivo de cohorte transversal y de tipo exploratorio cuantitativo, con una muestra de 163 participantes (91 en silla de ruedas y 72 deambuladores), que respondieron a un cuestionario estructurado con datos socioeconómicos y de salud y al instrumento World Health Organization Quality of Life Instruments (WHOQOL-bref) para medir la calidad de vida. En la evaluación de los dominios físico y psicológico, no se observaron diferencias significativas entre los dos grupos, por lo que la percepción de la calidad de vida no fue afectada por el uso de la silla de ruedas. Sin embargo, al examinar el dominio relaciones sociales y medio ambiente, la percepción sobre la calidad de vida fue significativamente menor a los usuarios de silla de ruedas cuanto a las paresias, plejías y amputación.

ABSTRACT The routine of people with physical disabilities includes the use of different assistive technology resources that can aid in their physical and intellectual development, which directly affects their quality of life. The objective of this study was to evaluate the life quality perception of Wheelchair users and non-Wheelchair users living in the municipality of Itajaí, in the state of Santa Catarina. This is a cross-sectional study with exploratory and quantitative analysis. The sample consisted of 163 participants, of whom 91 were wheelchair users and 72 were non-wheelchair users. Participants responded to a structured questionnaire with socioeconomic and health information and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument, WHOQOL_bref, to measure quality of life. In the evaluation of the physical and psychological domains, no significant differences were observed between the two groups. Therefore, in these two areas, the perception of quality of life was not affected by the use of wheelchair. However, by examining the social relations and environment domain the perception of quality of life was significantly lower for wheelchair users with paresis, regarding the plegias and amputation.