Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Wheelchairs are an important form of technology for Canadians as over 250,000 Canadians rely on wheelchairs to move around their communities. The use of a wheelchair by those with mobility impairments is expected to facilitate independence, however, 59% of wheelchair users between the ages of 65 and 84, and 76% of users 85 years of age and older are reported to have problems with using their wheelchair. Despite knowledge that such problems lead to compromised mobility and social participation among aging wheelchair users, little else is known about these two important aspects, largely because there is a dearth of research on the determinants of both mobility and participation with using a wheelchair. Confidence is the belief individuals have in their ability to do things. Because research consistently demonstrates various forms of confidence as important determinants of what people do, confidence with using a wheelchair likewise may have important implications on the mobility and social participation of wheelchair users. These relationships, however, have not yet been investigated, largely because up until now there hasn't been an adequate tool to capture relevant information. The purpose of this proposed multi-site study is to develop a better understanding of confidence with using a manual wheelchair among aging wheelchair users in Vancouver, BC and Quebec City, QC. This research will use the new Wheelchair Use Confidence Scale (WheelCon) to capture the construct of interest. Because the WheelCon is a recently developed tool, the first study will be to refine the WheelCon using contemporary measurement methods. Next, in a cross-sectional study using regression analyses, we will address the hypotheses that confidence with using a wheelchair is a significant determinant of: 1) wheelchair mobility; 2) self-reported frequency of participation; and 3) satisfaction with participation, among aging wheelchair users after controlling for important covariates.