Manual Wheelchair Speed, Maneuverability, and Endurance and Community Access

Manual Wheelchair Speed, Maneuverability, and Endurance and Community Access

This is a cross-section correlational study that will examine the relationships between wheelchair speed, maneuverability, and endurance with community integration. By identifying which of these has the biggest contribution to community participation, the information will be used to justify continues therapy, to alter the focus of therapy, and to justify purchase of power or power assist wheelchairs when needed. Currently, therapists make the recommendation for a power or power assist chair based on their clinical judgement and the patient's experience, but there has been limited justification from the literature for these decisions. Finally, because the CHART measure is the gold standard in rehabilitation research for community integration, but has psychometric problems, we will use this opportunity to validate a new more psychometrically solid measure, the PART-O, against the CHART.

Inclusion criteria include:

• 18 years or older
• presence of a physical disability
• use of a manual wheelchair for primary mobility
• living in the community.

Exclusion criteria would include:

• individuals who have significant expressive or receptive language deficits (i.e. aphasia, verbal apraxia, etc.)
• limb orthopedic conditions that would contraindicate speed and endurance testing, such as recent fractures or joint instability
• cardiopulmonary resting heart rate of less than 50 or over 100, resting vitals of systolic blood pressure of > 200 or < 90, diastolic blood pressure of >110, resting O2 levels of less than 90 (ACSM, 205; Fletcher, et al., 1993).
• any other cardiac symptoms