Over half of wheelchair-bound individuals with spinal cord injuries required repair work within the past six months.

In a recent study published on July 2, 2021, researchers found that more than half of wheelchair users with spinal cord injuries (SCI) required wheelchair repairs within the past six months, leading to significant financial costs and personal consequences.

The study, titled "Factors Influencing Incidence of Wheelchair Repairs and Consequences Among Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury," was co-authored by Denise C. Fyffe, PhD, Trevor A. Dyson-Hudson, MD, Lynn A. Worobey, PhD, DPT, ATP, Michael L. Boninger, MD, Allen W. Heinemann, PhD, Kim D. Anderson, PhD, Theresa Berner, OTR/L, ATP, Patricia S. Pacheco, Ramona Philyaw-Kotov, and James S. Krause.

The research was funded by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

The study surveyed 533 wheelchair users at nine Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems Centers across the United States about their wheelchair repair experiences over the past six months. The SCI Model Systems are specialized programs of care in spinal cord injury that aim to improve long-term functional, vocational, cognitive, and quality-of-life outcomes for individuals with spinal cord injury.

The study found that power wheelchair users and those who are Black were more likely to experience wheelchair repairs and consequences. Up to 88 percent of wheelchair users experienced a wheelchair failure, which can lead to missed opportunities like work, medical appointments, educational classes, and social events. Adverse consequences from wheelchair repairs can last for more than two weeks for many users.

Currently, there are no clinical or industry standards for expected wheelchair maintenance, and fewer than 50 percent of wheelchair users are trained in wheelchair maintenance. The study suggests that providing a borrowed wheelchair while a user's wheelchair is being repaired, increasing the speed of repairs, training people in wheelchair maintenance, and routinely scheduling follow-up appointments after a repair could reduce adverse consequences.

The SCI Model Systems are charged with disseminating information and research findings to patients, family members, health care providers, educators, policymakers, and the general public. The Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, focusing on rehabilitation research to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes, including employment, for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord, leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities.

Wheelchair failures can result in injury, with wheelchair users who experience breakdowns almost twice as likely to be re-hospitalized compared to those with a working wheelchair. The study's findings underscore the need for improved wheelchair maintenance and support for individuals with spinal cord injuries to ensure their mobility, independence, community engagement, pain management, and position changes are not compromised.

The study was published online in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation on April 9, 2021. The 2016-2021 grant cycle comprises 14 SCIMS grantees, and each SCI Model System contributes patient records to a national database, maintained by the National SCI Statistical Center, which tracks the long-term consequences of SCI and conducts research. The database research areas include medical rehabilitation, health and wellness, technology, service delivery, short- and long-term interventions, and systems research.

Over half of wheelchair-bound individuals with spinal cord injuries required repair work within the past six months.