Assessing Women Veterans" Needs for Mobility Devices

NIH RePORTER · VA · I21 · · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

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
10311107
Project number
5I21RX003452-02
Recipient
EDWARD HINES JR VA HOSPITAL
Principal Investigator
FRANCES M. WEAVER
Activity code
I21
Funding institute
VA
Fiscal year
2021
Award amount
Award type
5
Project period
2020-10-01 → 2022-09-30