Learn The Power Mobility Tricks The Celebs Are Using

Power Mobility and Safety Concerns

Power mobility allows those who are in long-term care to take part in their daily activities and leisure pursuits. The devices can also create security concerns that need to be addressed.

Rather than exclude residents with certain diagnoses from the use of power mobility as it could be viewed as prejudicial risk management, most participants opted to adopt a teleological approach and let everyone trial a device.

Mobility

A power mobility device allows people who are unable to move about their homes or communities and engage in daily activities that might otherwise be unavailable to them. However, these devices may also pose a risk to the person who uses them, as well as other individuals who share their space or space. Occupational therapists should carefully consider the safety requirements of each client before making recommendations regarding powered mobility.

In an exploratory study carried out by OTs at three residential care facilities of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, qualitative interviews were conducted with residents to assess their use of power mobility. The aim was to develop a framework that could allow for client-centred power movement prescribing. The findings revealed four main themes: (1) the meaning of power mobility, (2) learning the rules of the road, (3) red flags concerning safety, and (4) solutions.

Power mobility can greatly improve the quality of life for individuals with limited mobility by allowing them to participate in a variety of everyday living activities both at home and in the community (Brandt, 2001; Evans, 2000). Participation in self-care, productive and leisure occupations is essential to physical and mental health for older adults, and for those who are suffering from progressive illnesses power mobility can be the opportunity to keep participating in these vital activities.

The participants felt it was inconvenient to remove a resident's wheelchair, as this would disrupt their life story and trajectory, and prevent them from engaging in the same things that they did before their disease worsened. This was particularly true for those in the facility 1 who were in a position to use their chairs for short periods of time, but were dependent on others to move them around the facility.

Another option is to slow down the speed at which residents drive their chairs. However this could cause several issues, including privacy and the impact on the rest of the community. Ultimately, removing a resident's chair was considered the most drastic and least preferred solution to safety concerns.

Safety

Power mobility allows disabled people to move around more easily, participate in a wider range of activities and do errands. However, with increased freedom of movement comes a greater chance of accidents. These accidents can cause serious injuries for certain. This is why it is vital to consider the security of your client before suggesting that they utilize power mobility.

First consider determining if your client can safely operate their scooter or power chair. This could include an examination of the physical by a physician or occupational therapist or a mobility specialist, based on the nature of your client's disability as well as their current health. In certain situations your client will require a vehicle lift to be capable of loading and unloading the device at their home, workplace or community.

Knowing the rules of road safety is another aspect of safety. This includes sharing space, with other pedestrians, wheelchair users and the bus drivers. This was a theme that 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 busy areas or over curbs (unless specifically designed for doing so). For others this meant driving more cautiously in a noisy environment and keeping an eye out for people walking.

The most popular and least desired option, which was to remove the wheelchair of a person was seen as a double whammy as it would mean losing mobility and hindering the person from participating in community and facility activities. This was the view of the majority of those who had their chairs removed, including Diane and Harriet.

The participants also suggested that family members, and staff members be trained on the safe use of power mobility. My Mobility Scooters could involve teaching the fundamentals of driving (such as using the right side of the hallway) and encouraging residents to practice driving techniques while out, and helping them understand how their actions can affect the mobility of others.

Follow-Up

A device that is powered by electricity can profoundly affect a child's ability to function and take part in life. There isn't much research on the experience that children have when learning to utilize these devices. This study employs an approach that is pre-post to study the impact of six months of use using one of four early power mobility devices on a group of school-aged children with severe cerebral palsy (CP).

We conducted qualitative interviews with 15 parents, along with occupational and physical therapists for children. Thematic analysis revealed three main themes. The first theme, 'Power for mobility explained the ways that using a powered device affected more than just the child's locomotor abilities. The experience of learning to drive a powered mobility device is often an emotional and transformative experience.

The second theme 'There's no recipe book' revealed that learning to utilize the mobility device was a process that developed in a way that was cyclical over time. Therapists were required to determine what was realistic depending on the individual's capabilities and needs. Through the training and post-training phases, therapists were expected to be patient with children and parents. Therapists and parents alike emphasized the need to assist families celebrate their achievements and address issues related to the training process.

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 it is important to be considerate when using a device that is powered by electricity. This is particularly true when driving in public areas. A few participants also mentioned that they've had to deal with instances where another's property was damaged through the use of a power mobility device, or where a person was injured by a driver who had not yielded the right-of-way.

The results of this study show that socialization and power mobility training for preschoolers with CP can be carried out in a variety of classroom settings. The next research study should investigate the training and outcomes for this kind of intervention in young children with CP. This could result in the development of more uniform training protocols for this group.