Geilen, B.G., de Witte, L. orcid.org/0000-0002-3013-2640, Norman, G. et al. (1 more author) (2022) Quality of wheelchair services as perceived by users in rural Bangalore district, India: a cross-sectional survey. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 17 (8). pp. 965-973. ISSN 1748-3107
Abstract
Background and aim
This study investigated the current state of wheelchair services in Bangalore Rural district, as provided by Bangalore Baptist Hospital, and identified areas for improvement.
Method
a cross-sectional survey was held among 50 wheelchair users. Data was collected on demographics, satisfaction, wheelchair skills and level of disability using QUEST, WST-Q and CHART-SF questionnaires.
Result
Overall satisfaction can be described as more or less satisfied, scoring 3.8 out of 5. Wheelchair users were less satisfied with the services compared to the wheelchair itself. The skills a wheelchair users had were strongly correlated with satisfaction scores (p < 0.01). Differences in satisfaction between genders were observed and related to multiple factors.
Conclusion
Wheelchairs should be easy to use with support services being easily accessible. A wheelchair should be delivered together with a training program to provide the user with the skills to operate and maintain the wheelchair. There are gender-wise differences in satisfaction towards wheelchair services that influence satisfaction
Implications for rehabilitation
Training of wheelchair skills should be part of the delivery process as this positively impacts satisfaction of wheelchair users and increases their independent mobility.
Requirements towards a wheelchair and its support service are gender specific. Recognizing and acting upon the differing needs between male and female wheelchair users should be an integral part of a wheelchair provision service.
Wheelchair users should take part in the development and implementation of novel technologies, policies and service delivery schemes as their need is not always answered. This could lead to a reduced uptake, or even failure, of innovations in (wheelchair) services.
The financial situation of a wheelchair user is a factor that influences satisfaction. Therefore, empowering and/or enabling wheelchair users to take part in activities that earns them an income should be part of a wheelchair service.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. |
Keywords: | Wheelchair; wheelchair service; wheelchair provision; evaluation; outcome measurement |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) > ScHARR - Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 28 Jan 2021 15:30 |
Last Modified: | 24 May 2024 15:56 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Informa UK Limited |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/17483107.2020.1839576 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:169672 |