Power Mobility and Safety Concerns
Power mobility allows individuals who are in long-term care to take part in their daily activities and leisure activities. However, these devices can also pose safety risks that must be addressed.
The majority of participants opt to adopt a teleological perspective and provide all residents with the chance to test a device, rather than exclude those with specific diagnoses that could be viewed as a prejudicial risk management.
Mobility
A power mobility device allows those who are disabled to move about their community or home and participate in daily living activities that might otherwise be not accessible to them. These devices could be a danger not just to the individual using them, but also to other people who share their space or environment. Occupational therapists must carefully examine each client's safety requirements to provide the most appropriate recommendations for powered mobility.
In an exploratory study (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 objective was to develop a framework for client-centered power mobility 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 boost the quality of life for individuals with mobility limitations. This is due to the fact that it lets them participate in everyday activities at home as well as in the community. Participation in self-care as well as leisure and productive occupations is vital for physical and mental health for older adults, and for a lot of people with progressive diseases power mobility can be the opportunity to keep participating in these vital activities.
It was considered unacceptable by the participants to remove a resident's wheelchair because it would alter their life's story and progression, and prevent them from doing the same activities that they were doing before their condition progressed. This was especially the case for those in the Facility 1 who were capable of maintaining their chairs for short periods of time, but were forced to rely on others to push them around the facility.
Another option is to reduce the speed that some residents drive their chairs. However this could cause various issues like privacy and the impact on the rest of the community. In the end, taking away the chair of a resident was deemed the most drastic and least preferred solution to safety concerns.
Safety
Power mobility allows disabled people to move more freely and participate in a greater range of activities and run the errands. With increased mobility comes an increased risk of accidents. For some, these accidents could cause serious injuries to themselves or others. It is important to consider the security of your clients prior to recommending the use of power mobility.
The first step in assessing safety is to determine if your client is safe to operate their power wheelchair or scooter. Depending on the severity of their disability and the state of their health, this could involve a physical assessment by a doctor or occupational therapist, or an interview with a mobility specialist to determine whether a specific device is suitable for them. In some cases your client may require a lift for their vehicle to be able to load and unload the mobility device at their workplace, home, or community.
Knowing the rules of road safety is an additional aspect of safety. This includes sharing space with other pedestrians, wheelchair users and drivers of cars, trucks or buses. This is a topic that was mentioned by most 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 this). Others drove more slowly and kept an eye out for pedestrians in a crowded environment.
The final and least preferred alternative was to take away a person's chair, which was viewed as a two-fold penalty that would result in losing mobility independently and preventing access to facilities and community activities. This was the viewpoint of most participants who were able to remove their chairs and included Diane and Harriet.
Other ideas suggested by participants included educating residents, family members and staff about the safety of power mobility. This could include teaching the basics of driving (such as using the correct side of a hallway) as well as encouraging residents to practice driving skills when they go out and assisting them in understanding how their actions can affect other people's mobility.
Follow-Up
A power mobility device can have a profound impact on the ability of a child to function and take part in life. Yet there isn't much research on the experiences of children who are learning to use this device. This study uses a post-previous design to examine the effects of six months of use with one of the four early mobility devices on a school-aged group of children suffering from severe cerebral Palsy (CP).
We conducted interviews in qualitative format with 15 parents, and also occupational and physical therapists for children. Thematic analysis revealed three key themes. The first, 'Power in mobility,' described the ways in which powered devices affected more than just a child's locomotor abilities. The process of learning to drive a motorized mobility device is usually an emotional and transformative experience.
The second theme , 'There's no recipe book' showed that the process of learning to utilize a mobility device was a process that unfolded in a way that was cyclical over time. Therapists were required to determine what was realistic in light of the child's capabilities and needs. During the training phase and following, therapists were required to be patient with children as well as parents. find more information and parents alike spoke of the need to assist families celebrate their achievements and resolve issues that arise from the process of training.
Finally, the third theme, 'Shared space', explored the ways in which using devices that power us can influence the lives of others and how they interact. The majority of participants in this study believed that people should always be considerate when using a device that is powered by electricity. This is especially applicable when driving on public roads. Participants also said that they had seen situations where property of someone else's was damaged due to the use a power mobility device or a person had been injured by a driver who did not yield the right of way.
Overall, the findings of this study suggest that short-term socialization and power mobility training appears feasible for preschoolers with CP in certain classroom settings. electric scooter green should continue to examine the effectiveness of training and outcomes for this kind of intervention for children with CP. This will hopefully lead to the development of more standardized training protocols specifically for this group of children.