Preliminary examination of the relation between participation and confidence in older manual wheelchair users
Brodie M Sakakibara, William C Miller, Janice J Eng, Catherine L Backman, François Routhier, Brodie M Sakakibara, William C Miller, Janice J Eng, Catherine L Backman, François Routhier
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 R(2) 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.
Conflict of interest statement
We certify that no party having a direct interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on us or on any organization with which we are associated AND, we certify that all financial and material support for this research (eg, NIH or NHS grants) and work are clearly identified in the title page of the manuscript.
Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Source: PubMed