title: The role of wheelchair seating standards in determining clinical practices and funding policy.
abstract: The development of international standards for wheelchair seating offers practical benefits in the process of matching technical characteristics of assistive technologies to individual user needs. However, information provided in technical test reports must be treated with caution when aggregating technical characteristics to classify products or when implementing funding policy. This article suggests that clustering technical characteristics of seat cushions in isolation of clinical and other user requirements is not a viable way to establish product funding codes that are responsive to clinical need.
authors.affiliation: ASPIRE Centre for Disability Sciences, Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science, University College, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferguson-Pell
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: Duncan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bain
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Call
authors.forename: Joke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grady
authors.forename: Jaap
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: deVries
mesh_terms: D002081:Buttocks; D004867:Equipment Design / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms; D014910:Wheelchairs / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*