Research Priorities: Wheeled Mobility
By Cohen, Laura; Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 173-180Publication Date: May/June 2007
Paper focuses on discussion yielded by the Wheeled Mobility breakout groups at the Georgia Tech Mobility Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center’s State of the Science Conference. The breakout group was an interdisciplinary group of leaders in the field of wheeled mobility, who met to discuss and exchange information about the methodological challenges of studying health, activity and participation of wheelchair users. People attending the conference were provided with wheeled mobility priority topic, and were asked to configure a research topic into a research project. Each group was provided with a general framework to guide discussions including: (1) identify research questions, (2) specific aims or hypotheses, (3) study design possibilities, (4) recruitment considerations, (5) measurement variables and tools, (6) analysis considerations and (7) anticipated methodological challenges. The four priority research topics examined were: (1) impact of mobility equipment on health outcomes, (2) relating activity and participation to health outcomes, (3) impact of wheelchair design on function, and (4) health impacts of long-term wheelchair use. Implications for future research are discussed.
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Limited (Website:http://taylorandfrancis.org)
International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (Web Site: http://www.isprm.org )
