Child and adolescent primary caregiver’s perception of wheelchair prescription and equipment satisfaction

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the perception of the parents/guardians about the reason for requesting a wheelchair for their child and adolescent and to describe if there is comfort or discomfort in the wheelchair, as well as the items of satisfaction or dissatisfaction in the equipment granted in a concession service in the city of Uberaba, MG. Methods: Twenty-nine child and adolescent with a minimum age of three years and a maximum of 17 participated in the study. For the data collection, a structured instrument and an interview script were applied. Results: The mean age of participants was 10.03 years, with a predominance of children. The clinical diagnosis that prevailed was cerebral palsy. The results showed that the reason for requesting a wheelchair prescription was mobility (46.7%). 86.2% of the parents/guardians indicated that they perceive discomfort of the child/adolescent during the use of the wheelchair. A majority stated that they were satisfied with the mobility the chair provides, but they also say they are dissatisfied with the wheelchair’s accessories (seat belt, seating system, reclining option, among others). Conclusions: In the face of discomfort and dissatisfaction, it is concluded that it is important to review the wheelchair prescribing process in the concession service studied and the monitoring of the child/ adolescents more closely, improving the prescription and equipment selection service.