Citation

Battalova A, Hurd L, Hobson S, Kirby RL, Emery R, Mortenson WB. Soc. Sci. Med. (1982) 2022; 297: e114810.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114810

PMID

35196599

Abstract

The use of motorized mobility scooters has become increasingly prevalent. Drawing on the critical-phenomenology and disability-studies literature, this study explored the embodied nature of scooter use among 20 new scooter users. The analysis revealed four themes: 1) Navigating the social environment and being (un)seen presented a paradox of how hypervisibility and invisibility can both exist; 2) Transitioning to scooter use revealed the affective component of becoming a scooter user despite the underlying desire to avoid unwanted attention; 3) Experiencing accessibility challenges en route and at destinations demonstrated that the inconsistency in accessibility along different routes unavoidably makes disability more visible; 4) Strategic and personalized use of devices for mobility illustrated how reliance on other mobility devices (e.g. canes and walkers) can be used as a strategy to circumvent the barriers and lessen the visibility of disability. The lifeworlds of "lived relation", "lived body", "lived space", and "lived things" encapsulated the multi-faceted experiences of new scooter users. The critical phenomenology of scooter use emphasized the need for creative strategies to address the physical and attitudinal barriers as well as scooter design-related concerns.

Language: en

Keywords

Visibility; Critical phenomenology; Invisibility; Lifeworlds; Scooter; Wheeled mobility device