Standards and Anthropometry for Wheeled Mobility

5.0 Conclusions

The research demonstrated that there is a need to revise the standards for wheeled mobility access to reflect the body structure and functional abilities of this population and the devices they use today. The U.S. standards are in more need of change but the basis for many of the changes previously made to the standards in Canada, the U.K. and Australia can also be questioned in light of the research findings. Findings must be evaluated very carefully when used to make changes to standards. In particular, the impact of the methods used on findings needs to be studied in depth. Yet, consistency of trends across the various samples is quite good, given the wide variety of methods used. The main problem in comparing findings is the lack of information about the extreme cases.

There is a clear need to develop an international consensus on standards and research methods. In a global economy, people who use wheeled mobility devices can be expected to travel all over the world. At least in facilities that are frequented by international travelers, minimum requirements for key built elements would provide a basic level of accessibility that everyone could expect. Our findings suggest that, at least in the most developed countries of the English-speaking world, standards are diverging. There appear to be several reasons for this divergence: 1) differences in the research that supports standards development, 2) differences in how the elements of access are defined, both the terminology used and also in the definitions (or lack thereof) of key variables, 3) use of Imperial units in the U.S. that are not always compatible with typical metric dimensions used in the construction industry. Underlying these reasons is the lack of communication between the researchers and standards developers at the international level. Without such communications, a consensus on methodologies and approaches will not evolve.

While standardization may improve the utilization of research findings, it is important to recognize the need for differences in accessibility standards from country to country. There are many good reasons for variation, including cultural differences in stature, differences in economic development and differences in cultural expectations for independence among the population. Yet, there is no reason why the benefits of international standardization can be achieved while still respecting cultural differences. The research conducted here demonstrates several possibilities: standardize the terms and definitions for the variables of accessibility, establish consensus on how to define accessibility in terms of human performance, define a minimum level of accessibility that is accepted at an international level. Any country could exceed the minimum thresholds.

Another important conclusion from this research is very obvious. Research methods have to be improved and documented more thoroughly. There is not enough information in many of the research reports we obtained to judge the quality of the methods used. Standards of research quality are well known. The reliability of methods needs to be documented. New methods should be compared for validity with older methods. Sample recruitment should be well documented and designed to reduce bias or achieve specific objectives. Enough funding needs to be provided to develop sufficient sample sizes.

Finally, there is a need to internationalize this type of research. Standardizing methodologies at an international level and providing funding from international agencies to measure people in countries that cannot afford to do it themselves are two critical needs. Currently, there is very little research on this subject and it is all being completed in developed societies. The rapidly improving development status of Asian countries will bring with it increased expectations and demands by their citizens with disabilities. The aging of societies worldwide will also increase the need to support independence for the older part of the population. In less developed countries, the older population is increasing very quickly as public health improves. In these countries, international agencies are also completing massive projects to improve education, health, transportation and housing. It is important that standards from the western world are not blindly applied in these societies without determining whether they are appropriate.