# Assessing Women Veterans" Needs for Mobility Devices

> **NIH VA I21** · EDWARD HINES JR VA HOSPITAL · 2021 · —

## Abstract

There has been a significant growth in the number of women Veterans that are served by the
Veterans Health Administration (VA) in the past 30 years, and this number is expected to
continue to grow. The number of women who require mobility devices (i.e., canes, walkers,
wheelchairs, scooters) due to injury, disease and aging has also increased. Yet, little is known
about what needs women Veterans have related to mobility devices. There is some limited
information that women have concerns about design, fit and comfort and would like to be more
involved in the development of future devices. Further, Public Law 114-223, published in 2016
specifically noted that VA should ensure that sufficient research dollars are appropriated for
prosthetic research specific to women Veterans.
The purpose of this project is to conduct a needs assessment to learn about women Veterans’
needs regarding mobility devices. Our specific aims are to:
 1) Identify women Veterans who require/use mobility devices to assess their access to,
 needs, priorities, preferences and experiences related to these devices; and
 2) To assess needs and priorities related to mobility devices for women Veterans and
 possible solutions for the issues identified from the perspectives of key VA stakeholders.
This study will utilize an on-line survey to assess women Veterans’ access, needs, priorities,
preferences and experiences with mobility devices. All women Veterans with mobility devices
will be invited to participate. A small group of women Veterans who volunteer will also complete
more in-depth interviews with project staff to provide more detailed experiences. Results will be
shared with key national VA stakeholders in women’s health, prosthetics, safety, and
rehabilitation regarding women Veterans’ needs, barriers and possible solutions will be
discussed. The result will be a set of recommendations on how to address women Veterans’
needs related to mobility devices.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10126238
- **Project number:** 1I21RX003452-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** EDWARD HINES JR VA HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** FRANCES M. WEAVER
- **Activity code:** I21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-10-01 → 2022-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10126238

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10126238, Assessing Women Veterans" Needs for Mobility Devices (1I21RX003452-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10126238. Licensed CC0.

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