Summary Background and Objective Personal wheelchair budgets (PWBs) are offered to everyone in England eligible for an NHS wheelchair, to support their choice of equipment. The WATCh (Wheelchair outcomes Assessment Tool for Children) and related WATCh-Ad tool for adults are patient centred outcomes measures (PCOMs) developed to help individual users express their main outcome needs when obtaining a wheelchair and rate their satisfaction with subsequent outcomes after receiving their equipment. We explored their use in a real-world setting, aiming to produce guidance for use alongside the PWB process. Methods Three wheelchair service provider organisations across four sites participated. Staff and users completed surveys about their experience of the WATCh and/or WATCh-Ad tools used in the assessments. Towards the end of the study, selected patients were interviewed after receipt of their equipment, and staff were interviewed after experiencing a number of assessments. Thematic analysis was undertaken using the tool, survey and interview data. Results Information on 75 assessments by 15 staff was obtained. Over three-quarters of users or their carers rated the use of the tools in the assessment process as ‘helpful’ or ‘very helpful’. Staff reported that use of the WATCh tools had been considered ‘useful’ in developing individual care plans in around 1 in 3 cases and affected the prescription in 1 in 4 cases. Concerns were expressed around the length of time taken to administer the tools in clinic, although some staff noted this reduced with more hands-on experience, and by providing the tools to users in advance of the appointment. Conclusions The WATCh and WATCh-Ad PCOM tools are suitable for routine use by wheelchair service providers to assist the assessment process. It is recommended that tool materials are provided in advance to users/carers, and that staff are allowed time to develop their ways of working with them.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.