Understanding the Experiences of New Mobility Scooters: a Phenomenological Analysis

Research Objectives To explore the lived experiences of new mobility scooter users. Design Data were collected as part of a larger mixed-methods intervention study. Based on critical phenomenology1,2 each participant was interviewed multiple times before and after their scooter training. Examples of the questions included: What kind of problems do you have getting around currently (using manual wheelchair/walker/cane, if applicable)? How do you feel about using a manual wheelchair/power wheelchair/walker/cane? How do other people respond to you when you are using your scooter? Setting Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Participants Participants were a convenience sample of 20 community dwelling, scooters users (with less than one-month experience using their devices) who were able to transfer in and out of a scooter independently. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Not applicable. Results The analysis revealed five themes. Transitioning to scooter use described how participants struggled to embrace scooters into their daily lives. Experiencing accessibility challenges revealed the challenges of navigating the outdoor and the indoor spaces in a scooter. Strategic and personalized use of devices for mobility illustrated how and why participants rely on other mobility devices. Navigating the social environment and being (un)seen demonstrated the stigma that participants experience from other people. Scooter appropriation over time revealed how participants see themselves and their use of scooters over time. Conclusions The experiences of new scooter users reflected the complexities of navigating the structural barriers and the challenges of integrating scooters into their lives3, 4, 5. The tension between the lived spaces and the scooters suggests that the design and specifications of some of these spaces do not meet the needs of modern wheeled mobility devices. Author(s) Disclosures There are no conflicts of interest for any author.