Manual Wheelchairs - World Health Organization

34 I guIdelInes on the provIsIon of manual wheelchaIrs In less resourced settIngs
1.9.7 Users, families and caregivers
Users and their groups are at the centre of developing and implementing wheelchair provision
(Fig.1.13). They can help ensure that wheelchair services meet their needs effectively.
Fig. 1.13. Users group
The role of users includes:
• participating in the planning, implementation, management and evaluation of wheelchair
provision;
• participating in the development and testing of wheelchair designs;
• working within wheelchair services in clinical, technical and training roles; and
• supporting and training new users.
Some users permanently rely on members of their family to assist with day-to-day activities of
living, while others may be more independent. Where a family member or caregiver is responsible
for assisting a user on a daily basis, such as a parent of a child with cerebral palsy, he or she should
also be involved in all the roles listed above for users.
Family groups for parents, siblings and other relatives of children with disabilities are encouraged
to undertake the activities listed under in Section 1.9.6.
Box 1.4. Wheelchair user at policy and implementation level in Uganda
In Uganda, a wheelchair provision stakeholders’ meeting was held in 2004, hosted by the Ministry of Health and
sponsored by the norwegian Association for the Disabled. This allowed users, disabled people’s organizations,
producers, government departments and donors to contribute their perspectives on the current situation of wheelchair
provision, to agree on long-term goals, and to plan how to achieve them. The meeting led to the appointment of a
wheelchair user as Wheelchair Project Officer within the Ministry of Health. This person’s own experience has enriched
the process of wheelchair service development in the country by bringing a user’s perspective to the policy and
implementation level.