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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: To describe how people who use wheelchairs participate and move at home and in the community over an entire year-long period, including during times with inclement weather conditions.
DESIGN: Longitudinal mixed-methods research study. SETTING: Urban community in Canada. PARTICIPANTS: People who use a wheelchair for home and community mobility (n=11). INTERVENTION: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Global Positioning System (GPS) tracker for movement in community (number of trips per day); Accelerometer for bouts of wheeling mobility (number of bouts per day, speed, distance, and duration); Prompted recall interviews to identify supports and barriers to mobility and participation.
RESULTS: More trips per day were taken in summer (p = 0.03) and on days with no snow and temperatures above 0 C. Participants reliant on public transportation demonstrated more weather specific changes in their trip patterns. The number of daily bouts of mobility remained similar across seasons; total daily distance wheeled, duration, and speed were higher on summer days, days with no snow, and days with temperatures above 0 C. A higher proportion of outdoor wheeling bouts occurred in summer (p = 0.02), and with temperatures above 0 C (p = 0.03). Inaccessible public environments were the primary barrier to community mobility and participation; access to social supports and private transportation were the primary supports.
CONCLUSIONS: Objective support is provided for the influence of various seasonal weather conditions on community mobility and participation for people who use a wheelchair. Longitudinal data collection provided a detailed understanding of the patterns of, and influences on, wheelchair mobility and participation within wheelchair users' own homes and communities.
Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Language: en |