About the WCQ
The Wheelchair Components Questionnaire (WCQ) was developed as an outcome measure for therapists and wheelchair technicians to assess the maintenance condition of a wheelchair.
The WCQ can be fully completed for most manual wheelchairs, does not require the tracking of repairs over time, and is brief with only eight questions.
Results can be used clinically to provide feedback on the condition of a wheelchair. Results could be used as evidence that repairs, parts, or a new wheelchair is needed. If the WCQ is used regularly at a location, it will produce evidence regarding components which often fail prematurely at that location. This information can facilitate proactive maintenance and ordering of parts.
The WCQ can also be used in research studies in which therapists assess a group of wheelchairs of the same type periodically. This provides feedback to manufacturers on which components are failing prematurely on their wheelchairs. This enables design improvements and highlights the need to provide replacement parts. It could be used for a group of wheelchairs before and after their users have been trained to repair their own wheelchairs to test the efficacy of the training.
The WCQ was authored by Karen Rispin, Joy Wee, and Kris Riseling.
Related Publications:
McMichael, M., Riseling, K., Rispin, K. (2019). Inter-rater reliability of the Wheelchair Components Questionnaire between multicultural wheelchair professionals. Proceedings of the 35th Annual International Seating Symposium. Rehab Week and RESNA, Toronto, June 24-28, paper 78.
Rispin, K., Dittmer, M., McLean, J., Wee, J. (2017). Preliminary reliability and internal consistency of the Wheelchair Components Questionnaire for Condition. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 12:8, 853-856.
Rispin, K., Riseling, K., Wee, J. (2017). A longitudinal study assessing the maintenance condition of cadres of four types of wheelchairs provided in low-resource areas. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 13:2, 146-156.
Rispin, K., DiFrancesco, J., Raymond, L., Riseling, K., Wee, J. (2017). Preliminary inter-rater reliability of the wheelchair components questionnaire for condition. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 13:6, 552-557.
