title: An expert review of the scientific literature on independent wheelchair transfers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to perform a literature review and seek expert opinion on the relevance and strength of the evidence concerning setup and transfer performance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Scientific literature databases were searched until June 2009 using 43 keywords resulting in 339 articles. These were internally reviewed and narrowed to 41 articles which were formally assessed by 13 external experts. Articles that 80% or more of the reviewers scored as moderately or highly relevant were included in the final results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nineteen articles met the relevancy criteria. The aspects of setup that experts felt were addressed to some degree included vertical transfer distance, transferring across a gap and position of the mobility device relative to target destination. None of the 19 articles were scored as having strong to very strong resulting evidence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a consensus among studies that transferring to a higher surface implies greater exertion of the upper limb. However, there is no evidence concerning how high or low, how close, and how much space is needed next to the target surface so it can be accessible by a majority of wheelchair users.
authors: Human Engineering Research Laboratories, Department of Veterans Affairs, Pittsburgh, USA. akoontz@pitt.edu
authors: Alicia
authors: A
authors: Koontz
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Toro
authors: Padmaja
authors: P
authors: Kankipati
authors: Megan
authors: M
authors: Naber
authors: Rory
authors: R
authors: Cooper