Session Information
Session Time: None. Available on demand.
Disclosures: Donald F. Distel: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest
Background and/or Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between annual income (≤ or > $25,000 per year) and adverse consequences of wheelchair disrepair in fulltime wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Design: Survey, Cross-Sectional
Setting: Nine Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems Centers
Participants: 526 wheelchair users with SCI
Interventions: Interventions: not applicable
Main Outcome Measures: Negative consequences of wheelchair breakdown including being injured, being stranded outside or inside the home, being stuck in bed, being forced to use a backup wheelchair, and missing work, school, medical appointments, or an important social event.
Results: A total of 298 participants (57%) reported requiring repairs for wheelchair breakdown, of which 186 (62%) experienced at least one adverse consequence. Among those reporting repairs, 103 (35%) were classified as having low annual income, ≤$25,000/year, 147 (49%) were classified as having high annual income, >$25,000/year, and income was not reported for 48 (16%) . Those with low annual income were more likely to experience all adverse consequences of wheelchair breakdown compared to those of high annual income (X2= 9.177, p=0.002). Specific consequences of wheelchair disrepair more likely to be experienced by individuals with low annual income were: being stranded inside the home (X2=5.343 ,p=0.029), being stranded outside the home (X2=6.523, p=0.011), being suck in bed (X2=5.167, p=0.023), being forced to use a backup wheelchair (X2=9.858, p=0.002), missing work or school (X2=10.608, p=0.001), missing an important social event (X2=5.844, p=0.016), and being injuried (X2=9.955, p=0.002). There was no significant difference in the likelihood of missing medical appointments between the two groups (X2=1.224, p=0.269).
Conclusions: Fulltime wheelchair users with SCI and low annual income are more likely to experience adverse consequences of wheelchair breakdown than those with higher annual income.
Level of Evidence: Level IV
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Distel DF, Boninger M, Worobey L. Lower Annual Income Is Associated with an Increased Likelihood of Experiencing Adverse Consequences of Wheelchair Breakdown in Fulltime Wheelchair Users with Spinal Cord Injury [abstract]. PM R. 2022; 14(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/lower-annual-income-is-associated-with-an-increased-likelihood-of-experiencing-adverse-consequences-of-wheelchair-breakdown-in-fulltime-wheelchair-users-with-spinal-cord-injury/. Accessed May 18, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2022
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/lower-annual-income-is-associated-with-an-increased-likelihood-of-experiencing-adverse-consequences-of-wheelchair-breakdown-in-fulltime-wheelchair-users-with-spinal-cord-injury/