Abstract
Fit, Function, and Comfort- Women Veterans’ Experiences with Mobility Assistive Technology
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
Background: There has been a significant growth in the number of women veterans who receive healthcare from the VA as well as women who require mobility assistive technology (AT) due to disabilities and impairments. Little is known about needs of women veterans in terms of the design, fit, and comfort of the mobility assistive technology .
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a needs assessment to learn about women veterans’ needs, priorities, preferences, and experiences with mobility AT. Devices studied included wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, canes, prosthetics, and orthotics.
Methods: Women veterans receiving care from the Veterans Health Administration who received mobility AT in the last 5 years participated in an online survey. The survey included questions regarding demographics, training, ability to participate in various activities, and three validated questionnaires that focused on functional mobility, user satisfaction, and psychosocial impact of assistive devices. A subset of veterans participated in semi-structured telephone interviews about their issues with their AT. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and relevant themes were coded.
Results: 700 women veterans participated in the online survey and 9 veterans have been interviewed to date. Preliminary results on the first 403 surveys show that a majority of respondents were 50-69 years of age (64%) and identified as white race (59%). The three most frequent disabilities women reported were Multiple Sclerosis (MS), osteoarthritis, and spinal cord injury (SCI) (16%; 7%; 5%). The primary AT most commonly used were canes, walkers, and manual or power wheelchairs. (25%; 21%; 19%). Activities for which their mobility device did not meet their needs included housework, leisure, and social activities (20%; 20%; 17%). Most women expressed satisfaction with their device related to comfort and durability. However, some women Veterans identified challenges with their device relating to the fit, safety and lack of options when choosing a device. One participant expressed that she “cannot be pretty while using her assistive device.
Conclusion: Approximately 1 out of 5 women indicated that their devices did not meet some of their needs. Some respondents commented that there is a need to customize mobility equipment to better fit women’s bodies and needs. Results from the study will be shared with key national VA stakeholders in women’s health, prosthetics, safety, and rehabilitation to develop possible solutions for these gaps with the goal of improving women veterans’ experiences and function related to mobility AT.