TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding the global challenges to accessing appropriate wheelchairs
T2 - Position paper
AU - Gowran, Rosemary Joan
AU - Bray, Nathan
AU - Goldberg, Mary
AU - Rushton, Paula
AU - Saab, Marie Barhouche Abou
AU - Constantine, David
AU - Ghosh, Ritu
AU - Pearlman, Jonathan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/4/1
Y1 - 2021/4/1
N2 - 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 evi-dence-based wheelchair service delivery process. In addition, many governments have not commit-ted 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 ex-plore 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. Con-clusion: The vision is to take positive action to develop appropriate and sustainable wheelchair service provision systems globally, for me, for you, for us.
AB - 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 evi-dence-based wheelchair service delivery process. In addition, many governments have not commit-ted 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 ex-plore 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. Con-clusion: The vision is to take positive action to develop appropriate and sustainable wheelchair service provision systems globally, for me, for you, for us.
KW - Appropriate wheelchairs
KW - Assistive technology
KW - Human security
KW - Sustainable development
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102919178&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18073338
DO - 10.3390/ijerph18073338
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 33804868
AN - SCOPUS:85102919178
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 7
M1 - 3338
ER -