Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine

Original Article: J Korean Acad Rehabil Med. 2011;35(1):115-121.; A Survey on the Actual Condition of the Use of Powered Wheelchair and Scooter.; Rho, Ji Young , Yang, Hee Seung , Kim, Kyung Yeol , Jang, Chul Ho , Lee, Seoung Min , Park, Yong Ok , An, Dong Young; ¹Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul Veterans Hospital, Seoul 134-791, Korea. yang7310@naver.com
²Center of Prosthetics and Orthotics, Seoul Veterans Hospital, Seoul 134-791, Korea.

Abstract: Objective
To evaluate the efficiency of powered wheelchair and scooter and to investigate the factors affecting the accidents and injuries. Method We investigated 90 subjects with mobility disability who had used powered wheelchair or scooter more than a year. The subjects responded to a questionnaire of the 34 items. Results Seventy (77.7%) of respondents used powered wheelchair or scooter more than 3 days a week. More than 50% of them regarded the obstacles such as curbs or thresholds as the most common hindering factor to outside mobility. The causes of breakdown were due to battery, wheel, gear box and motor. About a third of 58 respondents were dissatisfied with the result of repair. The high cost of the repair was regarded as the leading cause of dissatisfaction. Contusions were the most common, with abrasion and sprain accounting for most of the remainder. Of the 18 users who were affected by injuries, only 11.1% wore a safety seatbelt. Only 25 of 89 respondents had a safety education. Conclusion Our study showed that the efficiency of power wheelchair and scooter was relatively high. But the obstacles such as curbs, recurrent breakdown, and concerns about the accident were regarded as the hindering factors to the outside mobility. The degree of satisfaction to the safety education is relatively low, so more systemic and practical programs need to be devised.

Keywords :Wheelchair, Assistive technology, Safety, Injury