Study Reviews Demographic Characteristics of Veterans Who Received Wheelchairs
By Rehab Management: Rehab Today,Publication Date: May 2007
Article focuses on research conducted in order to determine whether wheeled mobility equipment prescription from the Veterans Health Administration varied across sex, race/ethnicity, diagnosis, and age. Three years of data from 1999 through 2001 obtained from the National Prosthetics Patient Database and the National Patient Care Database yielded over 77,000 cases, while the research indicated that more women use wheeled mobility devices than men, and that rates of wheelchair usage were highest for Native Americans, Caucasians, African Americans, and Hispanics, respectively. Older adults with more chronic conditions and more mobility difficulties use assistive technology (AT) more often, while each year of age increased the chance of AT usage by 1.04. Each chronic condition was found to increase AT usage by 1.18, while each additional mobility problem increased AT usage by 2.47. The number of veterans who received wheelchairs and scooters ranged from 52,309 in 1999 to 59,877 in 2001, which is a 14 percent increase.
Published by: Ascend Media LLC (Website:http://www.ascendmedia.com)
Link to text: http://www.rehabpub.com/RMN/2007-05-07_05.asp
