Power Mobility and Safety Concerns
Power mobility improves participation in daily activities as well as recreational pursuits for individuals who are in long-term care. The devices can also create security concerns that need to be addressed.
Instead of excluding residents with a specific diagnosis from the use of power mobility, which may be considered risk management prejudicial, most participants opted to adopt an approach based on teleology and let all residents try out a device.
Mobility
A power mobility device is a method for people who are unable to move around in their home or community and also to take part in daily activities that they would not be able to perform. However, these devices could also pose a risk to the person using them and other people who share their environment or space. Occupational therapists must carefully assess the safety requirements of each client prior to making recommendations about powered mobility.
In mobility power (von Zweck 1999), OTs from three residential care facilities in Vancouver Coastal Health Authority conducted qualitative interviews with residents about their power mobility use. The goal was to create an environment that allowed for a client-centered power movement prescription. green electric scooter revealed four major themes: (1) power mobility meaning, (2) learning road rules, (3) red flags security concerns, and (4) solutions.
Power mobility can greatly improve the quality of life for those with limited mobility by allowing them to participate in a range of daily life activities, at home as well as in the community (Brandt 2001; Evans, 2000). Participation in self-care, productive and leisure occupations is vital for physical and mental health for older adults and for those who are suffering from progressive illnesses power mobility is an opportunity to continue taking part in these vital activities.
The participants felt it was inconvenient to remove a wheelchair from a resident's home, as this would disrupt their life story and trajectory and hinder them from doing the same activities that they were doing before their condition worsened. This was particularly the case for those in the Facility 1, who had been able to maintain their power chairs for short durations and were forced to rely on others to help them move around the facility.
Another potential solution was reducing the speed at which some residents drove their chairs, however this could have raised issues such as privacy issues and impact on other people in the community. In the end, removing the chair of a resident was deemed the most drastic and least desired solution to safety concerns.
Safety
Power mobility allows people with disabilities to move more freely and participate in a greater variety of activities, and even complete around. With increased mobility comes an increased chance of accidents. These incidents can result in serious injuries for certain. This is why it is important to consider the safety of your client before recommending that they use power mobility.
The first step in determining safety is to determine if your client is safe to operate their scooter or power wheelchair. Based on their disability and the condition of their current health, this might involve a physical assessment by an occupational or physician therapist, or an interview with a mobility specialist to determine if a particular device is suitable for them. In some cases, a vehicle lift will be required to make it possible for your client to unload and load their mobility device at home, in the community or at work.
Another aspect of safety is knowing the rules of the road. This includes sharing space, with other pedestrians, wheelchair users and bus drivers. This is a topic that was mentioned by most participants in the study.
For some it required learning to use their wheelchairs on sidewalks instead of driving through crowded areas or over curbs (unless specifically designed to do this). For others this meant driving more slow in a crowded area and keeping an eye out for people walking.
The last and least preferred option that was to take away the wheelchair of a person was viewed as a double punishment as it would mean losing mobility, and also preventing the person from participating in the activities of the community and facilities. This was the view of the majority of those who were able to remove their chairs among them Diane and Harriet.
Participants also suggested that family members, and staff be informed about the proper use of power mobility. This could involve teaching the fundamentals of driving (such as using the correct side of a hallway), encouraging residents to practice driving skills when they go out and helping them to understand how their actions can affect the mobility of others.
Follow-Up
The capacity and willingness of a child to take part in the world can be profoundly affected by a device for power mobility. There is little research on the experience that children have when learning to utilize these devices. This study uses the post-previous method to analyze the effects of six months of using one of the four early mobility devices on a group of school-aged children of children who suffer from severe cerebral palsy (CP).
Qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 parents and children's occupational and physical therapists. Thematic analysis revealed three major themes. The first, 'Power and mobility,' explained the ways in which a powered device changed more than just the motor skills. The process of learning to drive a motorized mobility device is often an emotional and transformative experience.
The second theme, 'There's not any cookbook,' revealed that the process of learning how to utilize the power mobility device was a bespoke process that developed over time in a cyclical manner. Therapists were required to discover what was realistic for the individual child's needs and abilities. Through the training and post-training phases, therapists were expected to be patient with parents and children. Therapists and parents alike emphasized the need to assist families celebrate their accomplishments and solve problems associated with the training process.
The third theme, 'Shared space The study explored how the use of an electric device can influence the lives of others and how they interact. The majority of the participants in this study believed that it is important to be mindful when using a power mobility device. This was especially true when driving in public spaces. A few participants also mentioned that they had encountered instances where another's property was damaged by the use of a power mobility device, or in which an individual was injured by a driver who had not yielded right-of-way.
The results of this study show that power mobility and socialization training for preschoolers with CP can be carried out in certain classroom environments. Future research should continue to investigate the effects of training and results of this type of intervention for children with CP. This could eventually lead to more standard training protocols for children who have CP.