Changes in the quality of life in severely disabled people following provision of powered indoor/outdoor chairs.

PURPOSE To determine the benefits for patients who received an electric powered inoor/outdoor chair (EPIOC) and to quantify their perceived changes to their quality of life. METHOD Community-based cohort study of all patients provided with an EPIOC over 4 months; and followed up about 3 months later in a community served by a regional wheelchair service in North West London (population about 3.1 million) using the EuroQol EQ-5D with visual analogue scales for each of the five dimensions of the EQ-5D. RESULTS Sixty-four wheelchair users were assessed initially and 51 completed follow up. Chair users showed no significant improvement in health state as measured by the EQ-5D after EPIOC provision. The visual analogue scales (VASs) indicated that, although perceived overall health state, independence and social life did not appear to improve, the dimensions of mobility, quality of life and pain/discomfort improved significantly on provision of an EPIOC. CONCLUSION EPIOC users reported significant improvements in several important aspects of their lives; not just in mobility (as expected) but also in reduction of pain and discomfort. The use of VASs provided a more holistic set of outcome measures that demonstrate quality of life benefits beyond that of health state alone.