Article

OBJECTIVES: To determine wheelchair (WC) skills success rates for manual WC users
with spinal cord injury (SCI), to determine subject characteristics associated
with the lowest success rates of WC skills, and to characterize the relationship
between WC skills and measures of community integration and quality of life
(QOL). DESIGN: Cross-sectional multisite study. SETTING:
Six Spinal Cord Injury
Model Systems (SCIMS) centers. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with SCI (N=214) who
were at least 11 months postinjury, treated at an SCIMS center, and who used a
manual WC as their primary means of mobility. INTERVENTION: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Wheelchair Skills Test (WST) and questionnaires of demographics
and characteristics, QOL, and community participation. RESULTS: Of the 31 skills
in the WST assessed, success rates ranged from 19.6% to 100%. Eight skills had
success rates of </=75%: folding/unfolding the WC (71.5%), ascending (19.6%) and
descending (47.2%) a 15-cm curb, ascending (23.2%) and descending (26.5%) stairs,
transferring from ground to WC (40.6%), turning 180 degrees in wheelie position
(55.2%), and holding a 30-second stationary wheelie (59.9%). Male sex,
paraplegia, employed status, lower education, younger age at injury, and white
race were among the participant characteristics bivariately associated with
higher success rates of several WC skills. After controlling for covariates,
higher success rates of several WC skills and a higher total WST score predicted
better self-perceived health, higher life satisfaction, and more community
participation. CONCLUSIONS: For people with SCI who use a manual WC as their
primary means of mobility, their ability to perform manual WC skills is
associated with higher community participation and life satisfaction. Factors
contributing to low success rates need to be investigated, and interventions to
improve these rates are needed.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS