Power Mobility and Safety Concerns
Power mobility enhances participation in daily activities as well as recreational pursuits for individuals in long term care. The devices can also pose safety risks, which 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 chose to take the teleological approach and let everyone trial the power mobility device.
Mobility
A power mobility device is a way for people with limited mobility to move around in their home or community, and also to take part in activities of daily living that they would not be able to do. However, these devices may also pose a risk for the person using them, as well as other individuals who are in their space. green power mobility scooters near me in occupational therapy must examine each client's safety requirements to make the best suggestions regarding powered 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 regarding their power mobility use. The goal was to develop an approach to client-centered power mobility prescribing. The findings revealed four main themes: (1) power mobility meaning, (2) learning road rules, (3) red flags safety concerns, and (4) solutions.
Power mobility can boost the quality of life of individuals who have limited mobility. This is due to the fact that it allows them to 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 to mental and physical health of older adults, and for many people with chronic illnesses power mobility is the opportunity to keep participating in these vital activities.
Many participants considered it unacceptable to take away a resident's chair, as it would result in a significant disruption in their life story or course of action, and ultimately stop them from continuing to engage in the same activities that they were doing prior to their illness progressed. This was particularly relevant for those in the Facility 1 who had only been allowed to use their power chairs for a short time and were now reliant on others to push them.
Another solution would be to limit 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. In the end, removing the chair of a resident was thought to be the most drastic and least desired solution to safety concerns.
Safety
Power mobility allows those with disabilities to move around more easily and take part in a wider range of activities and run around. However, with greater freedom of movement comes a greater risk for accidents. These incidents can result in serious injuries for some. This is why it is crucial to think about the safety of your client prior to recommending that they use power mobility.
First consider determining if your client can safely operate their scooter or power chair. This may include a physical assessment by a physician, occupational therapist or mobility specialist, depending on the nature of your client's disability and their current health. In certain situations 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.
Another aspect of safety is knowing the rules of the road. This includes sharing space with other pedestrians, wheelchair users and the bus drivers. Most participants in the study mentioned this theme.
For some it meant learning to drive their wheelchairs on sidewalks instead of driving through busy areas or over curbs (unless specifically designed to do this). For others it meant driving slow in a crowded area and watching out for people walking.
The last and least popular option was taking away the chair of a person, which was viewed as a two-fold penalty: losing independent mobility and preventing access to facilities and community activities. This was the view of the majority of those who had their chairs removed, including Diane and Harriet.
Other suggestions made by participants included educating other residents as well as family members and staff on the safe operation of power mobility. This could include teaching the basics of driving (such as the right side to walk on in the hallway) as well as encouraging residents to practice driving when they go outside, and helping them understand how their behavior affects 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 power mobility device. Yet little research has been done on the experiences of children learning to use this equipment. This study employs an approach that is pre-post to study the effects of six months' experience with one of the four early power mobility devices on children in the school age group with severe cerebral palsy (CP).
We conducted qualitative interviews with 15 parents as well as occupational and physical therapists who work with children. Thematic analysis revealed three main themes. The first theme, 'Power to move The theme described how the use of the power of a device affected more than just the child's locomotor abilities. The process of learning to drive a powered mobility device can be an emotional and transformative one.
The second theme 'There's no cookbook' revealed that the process of learning to make use of an equipment for mobility was a process that developed in a cyclical manner over time. Therapists were required to discover what was appropriate for each child's needs and capabilities. Through the training and post-training phases, therapists were required to have patience with parents and children. Several parents and therapists described a need to help families celebrate successes and problem-solve problems that arise from the process of training.
The third theme, "Shared space", examined how the use of the power device can affect the lives of others. electric scooter green of the participants in this study believed that it is important to be mindful 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 instances where another's property was damaged due to the use of an electric mobility device, or where a person was injured by a driver who not yielded the right-of-way.
The results of this study show that power mobility and socialization training for preschoolers with CP can be done in a variety of classroom settings. The next research study should investigate the training and outcomes for this type of intervention in young children with CP. This should hopefully result in the development of more uniform training protocols for this group.