Project Type
modular
Project Lead Center
University of Pittsburgh Model Center on Spinal Cord Injury
Project Start Date
09/01/2021
Project End Date
08/31/2026
Participating Centers
Midwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care System
Southeastern Regional Spinal Cord Injury Model System
Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Injury System
Minnesota Regional Spinal Cord Injury Model System
Baylor Scott and White Spinal Cord Injury Model System
South Florida SCIMS
Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury System
Mount Sinai Spinal Cord Injury Model System
Virginia Consortium for SCI Care
Spaulding New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center

We propose to continue the work of previous cycles exploring assistive technology (AT) and disparities with an expanded focus. Important findings from this collaborative module in the last cycle include high rates of wheelchair repairs, which continue to impact over 50% of wheelchair users with significant financial and personal cost. Further, disparities in wheelchair failures were uncovered that continue to be prevalent among those most vulnerable and with the least financial resources. In this cycle, we will further explore barriers and facilitators to AT use and access. We will also expand our AT focus to include off-the-shelf smart home technologies, like smart speakers and door locks, which are becoming ubiquitous in the general population as costs decrease. These mainstream technologies have the potential to significantly improve accessibility for individuals with SCI, however usage has not been studied in this population. The SCIMS Environmental Factors Variable Workgroup highlighted this type of information on AT as important to collect but of too large a burden to add to the core NSCID dataset.