Power mobility and the built environment: the experiences of older Canadians

Abstract

In this article, we employ data from qualitative interviews with 15 men and 14 women aged 51–92 to examine older Canadian adults’ experiences of utilizing power wheelchairs and motorized scooters in the context of the built environment. When functioning properly and utilized within accessible spaces, power mobility devices provided many of the participants with the autonomy they desired. However, the features and functionality of power mobility equipment also constrained participants’ abilities to negotiate their surroundings and maintain valued social roles and physical activities. Participants’ experiences of power mobility technology as enabling or disabling were further complicated by the organization of the built environment, as the men and women described encountering various barriers to mobility within both public and private spaces. We discuss our findings in relation to the extant literature concerning the social and spatial construction of disability.

Keywords:

• older adults
• disability
• power mobility
• technology
• built environment
• spatial organization

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the individuals who took part in this research for their time and valuable insights. They would also like to thank Erica Bennett, Lauren Courtice, and Chris Liu for their assistance with data management. This research was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Emerging Team Grant awarded to Dr Laura Hurd Clarke, as well as a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Scholarship awarded to Alexandra Korotchenko.