Problems of older persons using a wheeled walker

Lindemann, Ulrich; Schwenk, Michael; Klenk, Jochen; Keßler, Manuel; Weyrich, Michael; Kurz, Franziska; Becker, Clemens

doi:10.1007/s40520-015-0410-8

Cited by 44 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(23 reference statements)

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“…Speci cally, there was an increased risk of falls when transferring to use the mobility aid and there were safety concerns of not appropriately using the prescribed device. Our assessment tool includes the assessment of transitions between sitting and standing, and the challenges identi ed by Lindemann et al [14] of manoeuvring the walker when navigating doors that open away and towards people.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[12,13]. In addition accessibility issues are also a concern, Lindemann et al identi ed opening a door against the direction of walking and obstacle clearance as the biggest problem for older adults using a 4-wheeled walker [14]. In the absence of professional input, the mobility aid may not appropriately compensate for de cits in balance and gait, and the person with dementia not necessarily receive training on safe use of the equipment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development, reliability and validity of the Safe Use of Mobility Aids Checklist (SUMAC) for 4-wheeled walker use in people living with dementia

Hunter

Divine

Omaña

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract Background: Balance and gait problems are common and progressive in dementia. Mobility aid use in people with dementia increases the likelihood of falls three-fold. An assessment tool to quantify mobility aid safety in people with dementia does not currently exist. The objectives of this study were: 1) to develop a tool for the evaluation of physical function and safety with use of a 4-wheeled walker in people with dementia, and 2) to evaluate its construct and criterion validity, inter-rater and test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change.Methods: Healthcare professionals (HCP) experienced in care and rehabilitation of people with dementia participated in focus groups for item generation of the new tool, entitled The Safe Use of Mobility Aid Checklist (SUMAC). The SUMAC evaluates physical function (PF) and safe use of the equipment (EQ) on nine tasks of daily life. Ten individuals with dementia using a 4-wheeled walker were recorded performing the tasks within the SUMAC. Reliability was evaluated by having five HCP score participant videos on two occasions. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Construct validity was evaluated using scores determined by a consensus panel compared to the individual HCP scores using Spearman’s rank-order correlations. Criterion validity was assessed between SUMAC-PF and the Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA) gait subscale using Spearman’s rank-order correlations. Results: Three focus groups (n=17) were completed and these generated a tool comprised of nine tasks and the components within each task that the clinicians would observe for physical function and safe use. Inter-rater reliability was statistically significant for the SUMAC-PF (ICC=0.92, 95%CI (0.81, 0.98), p<0.001) and SUMAC-EQ (ICC=0.82, 95%CI (0.54, 0.95), p<0.001). Test-retest reliability was also statistically significant for the SUMAC-PF (ICC=0.89, 95%CI (0.81, 0.94), p<0.001) and SUMAC-EQ (ICC=0.88, 95%CI (0.79, 0.93), p<0.001). The POMA gait subscale correlated strongly with the SUMAC-PF (r=0.84), but not EQ (r=0.39).Conclusions: Each of the scores of the SUMAC, physical function and safe use of the equipment, demonstrated content validity, strong inter-rater and test-retest reliability and strong criterion and concurrent validity for the assessment of mobility aid safety in people with dementia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development, reliability and validity of the Safe Use of Mobility Aids Checklist (SUMAC) for 4-wheeled walker use in people living with dementia

Hunter

Divine

Omaña

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…It is possible to observe that, during the step in which senior citizens from group 2 were evaluated while holding onto a common walker, the area resulting from the body oscillation was 14.780 cm², raising a question about the frontal body movement required for its use. Different researches have pointed out risks related to the use of common walkers (27) . A study conducted in Holland concluded that the use of common wheel walkers may increase the risk of falling and cause high risk injuries (28) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and evaluation of low-cost walker with trunk support for senior citizen

Poier

Godke

Foggiatto

et al. 2017

Rev. esc. enferm. USP

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Objective: Develop and evaluate a low-cost walker with trunk support for senior citizens. Method: Two-stage descriptive study: development of a walker with trunk support and evaluation with fourth age senior citizens. Results: Twenty-three fourth age senior citizens were selected. The evaluated criteria were the immediate influence of the walker on the static stabilometry with baropodometer and the evaluation of gait with accelerometers monitoring time and amplitude of the hip movement. There was a significant decrease in the body oscillation of senior citizens with the use of the developed walker, and there were changes in the joint amplitudes of the hip, but they were not significant. Conclusion: Using low-cost materials, it was possible to develop and equipment that met resistance and effectiveness requirements. The walker interfered in the balance of the senior citizens, reducing significantly the static body oscillation. DESCRIPTORSWalkers; Aged, 80 and over; Postural Balance; Low Cost Technology.Development and evaluation of low-cost walker with trunk support for senior citizen* Desenvolvimento e avaliação de andador de baixo custo com suporte de tronco para idosos Desarrollo y evaluación de andador de bajo costo con soporte de tronco para ancianos INTRODUCTIONThe population group called fourth age, or very old senior citizens, is formed by people aged 80 or more (1) . This plot is growing and, according to demographic projections, they will be 30% of the Brazilian population in 2050 (2) . In spite of this growth deriving from the improvement of basic life conditions, functionality cannot follow the passing of time (3)(4) . Therefore, senior citizens are a heterogeneous group as for the independence in completing activities of interest and in the quality of life (2,5) . Among the possible difficulties related to the age increase, there are balance and gait alterations, known as Postural Instability. With the decline of the sensorial capacities and the decrease of biomechanical skills, senior citizens tend to present unbalances and difficulties to maintain orthostatism and, consequently, an independent gait (6) . The most dangerous consequence of these alterations is falling, which may cause fractures and immobilization (4,7) . In these cases, there may be a decrease in the bone mass, reduction of the blood circulation, alterations in the respiratory function, appearance of pressure ulcers, urinary incontinence and intestinal constipation (8) . In addition, falls are the main mortality and morbidity cause among older senior citizens (9) . The occurrence of falling episodes increases with the age, since around 30% of the individuals aged more than 65 falls at least once a year; above 74, this index increases to 35% and after 85 years old, it goes up to 51% (10) . With the intent to stimulate mobility, independence and functionality in senior citizens, it is possible to introduce gait or locomotion helping devices in their routine (11) . Depending on the damage level, it is possible to recommend the ...

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“…Theoretically, a walking speed of up to 2 m s −1 (=10 cm/50 ms) or 7.2 km h −1 can be captured. This is in an acceptable range [24][25][26][27][28], especially as the operation of the door reduces the walking speed.…”

Section: Single Doormentioning

confidence: 97%

Development of a Sensor to Measure Physician Consultation Times

Gabl

Stummer

2019

Sensors

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The duration of patient–physician contact is an important factor for the optimisation of treatment processes in healthcare systems. Available methods can be labour-intensive and the quality is, in many cases, poor. A part of this research project is to develop a sensor system, which allows the detection of people passing through a door, including the direction. For this purpose, two time of flight sensors are combined with a door sensor and a motion detection sensor (for redundancy) on one single side of the door frame. The period between two single measurements could be reduced to 50 ms, which allows the measurement of walking speed up to 2 ms − 1 . The accuracy of the time stamp for each event is less than one second and ensures a precise documentation of the consultation time. This paper presents the development of the sensor system, the miniaturisation of the installation and first measurement results, as well as the measurement’s concept of quality analysis, including multiple door applications. In future steps, the sensor system will be deployed at different medical practices to determine the exact duration of the patient–physician interaction over a longer time period.

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Problems of older persons using a wheeled walker

Abstract: Problems with opening a door against the direction of walking and the optimization of downhill and uphill walking as well as obstacle crossing should be regarded when developing an intelligent WW.

Cited by 44 publications

References 17 publications

Development, reliability and validity of the Safe Use of Mobility Aids Checklist (SUMAC) for 4-wheeled walker use in people living with dementia

Development, reliability and validity of the Safe Use of Mobility Aids Checklist (SUMAC) for 4-wheeled walker use in people living with dementia

Development and evaluation of low-cost walker with trunk support for senior citizen

Development of a Sensor to Measure Physician Consultation Times

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