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Power Mobility and Safety Concerns

Power mobility improves participation in daily activities as well as activities for people in long term care. However, these devices can also create safety concerns that need to be addressed.

Rather than exclude residents with a specific diagnosis from the use of power mobility that could be considered risk management prejudicial, most participants opted to adopt a teleological approach and allow all residents to trial the device.

Mobility

A power mobility device enables people who are disabled to move about their community or home and participate in daily living activities that would otherwise be impossible for them. However, these devices may also pose a risk to the person who uses them, as well as other individuals who share their environment or space. Occupational therapists must be aware of the safety requirements of each client before making recommendations on powered mobility scooter mobility.

In an exploratory study (von Zweck, 1999), OTs from three residential care facilities within the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority conducted qualitative interviews with residents about their use of power mobility. The objective was to develop a framework for client-centred power mobility prescribing. The results revealed four major themes: (1) the meaning of power mobility, (2) learning the rules of the road, (3) red flags: concerns about safety and (4) solutions.

power mobility (source website) can significantly increase quality of life for individuals who are mobility-challenged by giving them the opportunity to participate in a range of daily living activities at home as well as in the community (Brandt, 2001; Evans, 2000). Participation in self-care as well as leisure and productive occupations is essential to mental and physical health for older adults and for many people who are suffering from progressive illnesses power mobility can be a way to continue participating in these vital activities.

Many participants considered it unacceptable to take away a resident's chair, as this would cause a major interruption to their life or trajectory and essentially prevent them from pursuing the same activities they were doing prior to their illness progressed. This was especially true for those in the Facility 1, who had been in a position to use their power chairs for brief periods of time, but were forced to rely on others to push them around the facility.

Another option is to reduce the speed at which residents drove their chairs, however this raised a number of issues, such as a lack of privacy and impact on other people in the community. In the end, taking away a resident's chair was considered the most drastic and least preferred solution to safety concerns.

Safety

Power green energy mobility scooters allows those with disabilities to move around more easily and participate in a greater variety of activities, and even run around. With the increased mobility comes an increased risk of accidents. For some, these incidents can cause serious injuries to themselves and others. It is important to think about the safety of your clients before suggesting the use of power mobility.

First consider determining whether your client is able to safely use their scooter or power chair. Depending on the severity of their impairment and current health, this may involve a physical evaluation by an occupational or physician therapist, and having a conversation with a mobility specialist to determine whether a specific device would be appropriate for them. In some cases the use of a vehicle lift may be required to allow for your client to unload and load their mobility device at home, in the community or at work.

Understanding the rules of road safety is an additional aspect of safety. This includes sharing space with other pedestrians, wheelchair users and the bus drivers. This topic was mentioned by the majority of participants in the study.

For some it required learning to drive their wheelchairs on sidewalks, instead of driving through crowded areas or over curbs (unless specifically designed for doing so). For others it meant driving cautiously in a noisy environment and watching out for people walking.

The last and least popular option was to remove the chair of a person. This was viewed as a two-fold penalty that would result in losing mobility independently and preventing access to facility and community activities. Diane and Harriet, among others, were among those who had their chairs taken away.

Other ideas suggested by participants included educating other residents staff, family members and other residents on the safe operation of power mobility. This could include educating residents on the fundamentals of driving (such as using the correct side of the hallway) and encouraging residents to practice driving skills while out, and helping them understand how their behavior affects the mobility of others.

Follow-Up

The capacity and willingness of a child to be a part of the world can be profoundly affected by a power mobility device. There isn't much research on the experience that children experience when they learn to make use of these devices. This study employs the pre-post method to investigate the effects of six months' experience with one of four early power green mobility scooter devices on children in the school age group with severe cerebral palsy (CP).

We conducted interviews in qualitative format with 15 parents and also pediatric occupational and physical therapists. Thematic analysis identified three major themes. The first, 'Power and mobility,' described the ways in which powered devices changed more than just a child's locomotor abilities. The process of learning to drive a motorized mobility device is usually an emotional and transformative one.

The second theme, 'There's not any cookbook,' revealed that the process of learning how to use the power mobility device was an individual process that evolved over time in a cyclical fashion. Therapists were required to discover the most appropriate solution for each child's needs and abilities. Through the training and post-training phases, therapists were also expected to be patient with children and parents. Therapists and parents alike emphasized the need to help families celebrate their successes and address issues related to the process of training.

The third theme, "Shared space", examined how the use of the power device can affect other people's interactions and lives. The majority of participants in this study believed that people should always be considerate when using a power device. This was especially true when driving in public areas. Many participants also reported that they've had to deal with situations where someone else's property was damaged through the use of a power mobility device, or in which an individual was injured due to a driver who not yielded the right-of-way.

Overall, the findings of this study suggest that short-term power mobility and socialization training appears feasible for preschoolers with CP in certain classroom environments. Future research should be focused on the effectiveness of training and outcomes of this type of intervention for young children with CP. This will hopefully lead more standard training protocols for children suffering from CP.