Patient acceptability of a wheel chair recliner developed to perform dental procedures at wheelchair itself: A cross-sectional study.

Aim: Transfer from a wheelchair and discomfort in dental chair are two important barriers for access to dental care among wheelchair-bound patients. The authors have devised an automated wheelchair recliner that helps to mimic the dental chair functioning at wheelchair itself. The aim of this study was to analyze the performance and acceptability of wheelchair recliner among wheelchair-bound patients.

Settings and design: Tertiary care settings, cross-sectional design.

Materials and methods: A total of 100 wheelchair-bound adult patients (aged >21 years) were evaluated for acceptability of the recliner. The patients were assessed using eight-item covering patient comfort/acceptability related to positioning, reclining, repositioning, fear of falls, joy, discomfort, perception regarding dentist's discomfort, and use in future on a scale of 0-4 with 0 indicating least satisfying and four indicating most satisfying experience. Overall, patient experience was graded as poor, fair, good, very good, and excellent. The Chi-square test was used to compare the results.

Statistical analysis used: IBM Stats package 21.0 was used. Mean ± standard deviation, Numbers/percentages and Chi-square test were used to compare results. The confidence level of the study was 95%.

Results: The age of patients ranged from 22 to 83 years (mean age 52.26 ± 18.58 years). Majority were males (58%) and had temporary (60%) disability. On a 4-point scale, the mean scores of patients ranged from 2.47 ± 1.23 (positioning) to 3.40 ± 0.74 (intent to use in future). Overall experience was rated as good to very good by 77% of patients. No significant association of age, sex, or type of disability was seen with overall patient experience.

Conclusion: The acceptability rates were good to very good among wheelchair-bound patients and were unaffected by their age, sex, and type of disability.