Anthropometry of Wheeled Mobility Project: Final Report

2.3.1 Comparison of Demographic Characteristics of Our Sample and U.S. Population of WhMD Users

The size and functional abilities of WhMD users was hypothesized to differ significantly across gender, device type and age of the individual. A comparative analysis between our sample and the population of U.S. WhMD users provided information about the generalizability of our pooled results with the U.S. population of WhMD users. Demographic information about the U.S. population of WhMD users was obtained through summary reports of the 1994‒95 National Health Interview Survey on Disability (Flagg, 2009; Kaye et al., 2000).

The relative percentages of WhMD users stratified by gender, device type and age categories were compared between our sample and the U.S. population of WhMD users. Cases in which our sample was not considered representative on these variables suggest a “stratified analysis” (i.e. presentation of results for sub-samples, rather than the pooled data set) or other statistical modeling methods (e.g. Paquet et al., in preparation) would provide opportunities for a more valid application of our results to U.S. standards. Population-based data about percentage of WhMDs users with different types of disability were not available for the analyses.