Do you really think your stroke hospital will follow these recommendations? As far as I was concerned wheelchairs were the complete problem, Try operating one with one good hand and one good leg. The solution is out there, lever powered wheelchairs, or rowing wheelchairs, but I bet your hospital knows nothing about them. More stroke hospital incompetency in action.
Physical Barriers to Mobility of Stroke Patients in Rehabilitation Clinics
Conference paper
First Online:
- 8 Downloads
Abstract
Regaining independent mobility and general independence is the main goal
of physical rehabilitation in stroke patients. The patients requiring
rehabilitation stay as inpatients in rehabilitation clinics for a period
of several weeks to several months. During this time, mobile patients
are required to go to therapies and other scheduled appointments on
their own. The aim of this study is to provide evidence that specific
architectural design features of rehabilitation clinics hinder the
independent mobility of stroke patients and to identify the main issues
caused by the building design. Patients (n = 50) and staff members (n = 46)
from five large German rehabilitation clinics participated in the
study. Three methods were used to collect the data: patient
questionnaire, staff questionnaire and patient shadowing (observation).
Both staff and patients identified the major issues that stroke patients
encounter in the built environment of rehabilitation clinics:
wayfinding problems, insufficient dimensions of spaces (corridors),
physical obstacles, uneven floor surfaces and large distances between
patient rooms and therapy rooms. Shadowing data showed that the patients
in the earlier stages of rehabilitation, mainly using a wheelchair,
encounter the most barriers related to the built environment. Design
recommendations for more mobility supportive rehabilitation clinics are
made based on the study findings.
No comments:
Post a Comment