Factors contributing to extended activity times during the provision of wheeled mobility devices.

PURPOSE: A secondary analysis was performed on data from a recent time-motion study documenting the type and duration of activities performed during the provision of wheeled mobility and seating devices. The objective of this analysis was to report factors that were most associated with activities having extended durations.

METHOD: Activities were categorized as occurring during the visit-preparation, pre-delivery, delivery or follow-up phases of equipment provision. Extended activities were defined as activities at or exceeding the 75th percentile, corresponding to activities exceeding 37.5 min. Logistic regression and Odd Ratio calculations were used to identify factors that were associated with extended encounters with clients.

RESULTS

Extended activities were more likely to be associated with Group 4 power chairs, ultra-lightweight wheelchairs and seating systems comprised of a combination of technologies, such as those with postural supports or using made-to measure or custom-molded techniques.

CONCLUSIONS

Wheelchair and seating system type were more predictive of extended activities compared to diagnostic categories. This result leads us to posit that functional needs - rather than diagnosis - impacts the duration of client encounters and the complexity of the equipment prescribed to the user. The results also indicate that more complex equipment were more likely to require extended encounters than less complex devices in their respective groupings.