Abstract
Objective
To examine the relation between frequency of participation and confidence with using
a manual wheelchair among community-living, older wheelchair users, and the moderating
effect of sex.
Design
Cross-sectional.
Setting
Community.
Participants
Participants (N=54) who were community-living manual wheelchair users (65% men), were
≥50 years of age (mean, 59y), used their wheelchair daily, and had ≥6 months experience
using a wheelchair.
Interventions
None.
Main Outcome Measures
The 16-item Late Life Disability Instrument and the 65-item Wheelchair Use Confidence
Scale measured participation and confidence, respectively. Age, sex, and wheelchair
skill measured using the performance-based Wheelchair Skills Test were included as
covariates in the multiple regression models.
Results
Significant and positive relations exist between participation and (1) confidence
(β=.83, P=.002) and (2) interaction term (β=.33, P=.05). The R2 change associated with confidence was 10% (P=.02), and 6% (P=.05) for the interaction term. Subsequent regression analyses revealed that the magnitude
of the relation between higher confidence and greater participation is stronger for
men (β=1.05, P=.002) than for women (β=.44, P=.05).
Conclusions
Confidence with using a manual wheelchair is a positive and significant determinant
of frequency of participation of older wheelchair users, after controlling for important
covariates. Because the relation is moderated by sex, treatments addressing low confidence
may lead to increased frequency of participation, especially for wheelchair users
who are men.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 01, 2012
Footnotes
Supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Doctoral Canada Graduate Scholarship and grant no. CIHR IAP-107848), the Canadian Association of Gerontology (Donald Menzies Award), and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (Senior Scholar Award).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
