Understanding the Global Challenges to Accessing Appropriate Wheelchairs: Position Paper

Abstract

Introduction: Appropriate wheelchairs are often essential for the health and wellbeing of people with mobility impairments to enhance fundamental freedoms and equal opportunity. To date, provision has mainly focused on just delivering the wheelchair instead of following an evidence-based wheelchair service delivery process. In addition, many governments have not committed to a national wheelchair provision policy. Approach: To prepare this position paper, a systemic development model, founded on the sustainable human security paradigm, was employed to explore the global challenges to accessing appropriate wheelchairs. Positions: I: Consideration of key perspectives of wheelchair provision across the life course is essential to meet the needs to children, adults, older people and their families; II: Comprehensive wheelchair service delivery processes and a competent workforce are essential to ensure appropriate wheelchair service provision; III: Evaluations on wheelchair product quality development, performance and procurement standards are key as wheelchair product quality is generally poor; IV: Understanding the economic landscape when providing wheelchairs is critical. Wheelchair funding systems vary across jurisdictions; V: Establishing wheelchair provision policy is a key priority, as specific policy is limited globally. Conclusion: The vision is to take positive action to develop appropriate and sustainable wheelchair service provision systems globally, for me, for you, for us.

Wheelchair service provision education in Canadian occupational therapy programs

“…While half of the programs were quite comprehensive, covering 7 or 8 steps, nearly one third addressed only 4–5 steps. This variability may reflect the lack of wheelchair-specific content requirements in Canadian OT program accreditation standards [ 20 , 21 ]. Similar issues and patterns of diversity have been reported in other middle- [ 14 ] and high-income countries as well [ 21 ].…”

“…Only six programs utilized on-line modules, primarily for the Assessment step. There appears to be considerable opportunity yet for programs to leverage on-line and asynchronous learning strategies to supplement or support the lecture and lab components of wheelchair-related content, as has been proposed in several publications [ 20 , 22 ]. It is possible that programs may have begun developing these types of resources during the COVID pandemic [ 50 , 51 ],which occurred subsequent to most of the survey responses.…”

“…The need for a competent workforce is a pressing issue for countries around the world as evidenced by prioritization in the WHO Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology [ 15 ], the 2017 Global Priority Research Agenda [ 16 ], the first Global Research, Innovation, and Education on Assistive Technology Summit [ 17 , 18 ], and the 2018 Wheelchair Stakeholders’ Meeting [ 19 ]. A recent position paper posits that capacity building and delivery of adequate education and training for all wheelchair service providers is critical to developing sustainable wheelchair provision systems [ 20 ].…”

Potential ethical problems in the creation of open educational resources through virtual spaces in academia

“…OER are appropriate and worthwhile response to consider as colleges and universities shift to digital modes of teaching and learning for free ( Veletsianos, 2021 ). A comprehensive analysis of the relationship between open access and OER revealed that these initiatives share the same connotation because they address issues of information in the public domain ( Gowran et al., 2021 ; Huang et al., 2020 ). The existing distinct literature affirms that the development of open access was more concerned about research ( Appavoo and Pagotto, 2014 ; Hermans, 2017 ; Papin-Ramcharan, 2006 ), while OER concerned teaching and learning ( Pawlowski, 2012 ; Midha & Kumar, 2022 ).…”

A Goal-Directed Program for Wheelchair Use for Children and Young People with Cerebral Palsy in Uganda: An Explorative Intervention Study

“…Prescription of wheelchairs to individuals with mobility limitations has the potential to improve mobility, seating, and daily activities, and is an “essential component for inclusive sustainable development” [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. In 2008, the World Health Organization (WHO) published guidelines for provision of wheelchairs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), emphasizing the need for a system addressing design, production, supply, and service delivery processes [ 4 ].…”