Functional mobility, employment and safety benefits of seat elevating devices.

STATUS OF RESEARCH PROCESS: Study completed. INVOLVEMENT OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY USERS: Participants were power wheelchair users.

Demographic and Functional Characteristics of National Veterans Wheelchair Games Participants: A Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Although many studies report the impact of adaptive sports and recreation on quality of life for people with disabilities across several age groups, few have focused on the Veteran population. The purpose of this study was to establish a baseline of common characteristics of the Veteran population that participated in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG) in 2017 and 2018, including their perception on how their participation is associated with function and social factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was implemented as part of a quality assurance collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh and the Veterans Administration National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events. Demographic and quality-of-life data were collected through the Functional Mobility Assessment (FMA) and associated Uniform Dataset as well as the Sports Participation Outcome Research Tool and Comprehensive Uniform Survey (SPORTACUS). This report provides and discusses the descriptive analyses that were performed on the data and establishes a framework to assess the impact of sports and exercise for Veterans with disabilities. RESULTS: A sample of 426 Veterans, 87% who were male and an average population age of 56 years old, reported high FMA scores on each of 10 items (daily routine, comfort, health, operate, reach, transfer, personal care, indoor mobility, outdoor mobility, and transportation) along with SPORTACUS scores scoring above 5, based on a 1-6 scoring scale (1 being "completely disagree" and 6 being "completely agree"), on each domain indicating sports participation is associated with their ability to function and participate in the community. CONCLUSION: Based on these results, it can be concluded for this military Veteran population that participation in a large, organized adaptive sports programs such as the NVWG has a positive association with daily function, quality of life, community participation, and use of higher quality assistive technology.

Evaluation of Service Delivery Effectiveness Through Patient-Reported Outcome Measures.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of the study were to report the demographic characteristics and functional mobility for individuals accessing an academic medical center mobility device clinic and to compare functional mobility data across demographic characteristics and mobility device type. DESIGN: This study used a retrospective, cross-sectional design. Demographic, mobility type, and patient-reported outcome measure data for 833 clients were analyzed. The Functional Mobility Assessment was used as the patient-reported outcome measure to determine satisfaction. RESULTS: The mean (SD) baseline Functional Mobility Assessment score was 0.59 (0.25) on a 0-1 scale. Significant differences with the Functional Mobility Assessment scores were found across the mobility device types, with scooter and power wheelchair groups reporting higher satisfaction scores than those in the cane/crutch/walker or manual wheelchair groups. Device type, sex, and age were each found to be significant predictors of satisfaction scores (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Mobility device type is associated with satisfaction level. Mobility devices that offer higher levels of assistance are associated with increased satisfaction. The Functional Mobility Assessment, mobility device type, and demographic data provide baseline information for evaluating the effectiveness of an academic medical center mobility device clinic.

Development and Implementation of a Wheelchair Outcomes Registry.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the development of a patient registry related to wheeled mobility and seating (WMS) device interventions to accumulate large datasets for clinical quality assurance and research purposes. DESIGN: Accepted guidelines for registry development were applied and anchored around the Functional Mobility Assessment (FMA) questionnaire and a uniform dataset (UDS). SETTING: The FMA and UDS were developed under a corporate research agreement between clinical researchers and commercial providers. The questionnaires are administered in rehabilitation clinics to patients at the time of assessment for new device interventions (baseline) and readministered by telephone or other remote strategies periodically thereafter (follow-up). PARTICIPANTS: The FMA and UDS can be administered to any patient with a mobility impairment in need of a WMS device. INTERVENTIONS: WMS interventions include manual wheelchairs, power wheelchairs, scooters, seating, and other accessories. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The FMA is a validated 10-item patient-centered outcome measure that investigates satisfaction in performing common mobility-related activities of daily living. The UDS includes variables related to age, diagnosis, and type of device used, as well as health, participation, and environmental factors. RESULTS: Currently there are over 1500 complete FMA and UDS cases at baseline and more than 600 follow-up datasets from 45 providers nationwide. Feedback indicates use of the FMA and UDS does not add burden to the clinical routine. CONCLUSIONS: A registry in the field of WMS has been developed and shown to be feasible in a clinical setting. This has created an opportunity to collect large datasets to increase sample sizes for future analyses to more scientifically evaluate what types of WMS devices work best for what types of patients under varying circumstances to promote health and participation.