Mark Schmeler PhD, OTR/L, ATP
Richard Schein MS
Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, University of Pittsburgh, Forbes Tower, Suite 5044, Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Wheelchair provision and service delivery for individuals with mobility impairments can be a complex and challenging clinical intervention. The availability of practitioners with specific expertise in wheeled mobility and seating is limited, especially in rural areas. People are isolated from rehabilitation services due to geography or physical limitations whereby large distances mean long travel times increasing costs associated with any service delivery.

Telerehabilitation is a tool that can alleviate the severity of some of the problems of rural service delivery as it uses videoconferencing, data acquisition, and sharing of information to establish a secure connection between individuals. The main research objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness and accuracy of using a Telerehabilitation consultation model for procuring appropriate wheeled mobility and seating device for individuals with mobility impairments measured by the Functioning Everyday with a Wheelchair (FEW) and Functioning Everyday with a Wheelchair - Capacity (FEW-C) outcome measure tools.

It is hypothesized that Telerehabilitation assessments for wheeled mobility and seating interventions, using this telerehabilitation consultation model, will result in improved function for people with mobility impairments to the same degree as traditional in-person assessments as measured by both the FEW and FEW-C. Steps taken to develop the protocols for a Telerehabilitation service delivery model and standards of practice for the evaluation will be described in this session.