VCU RRTC

 Present the measure we developed (Mobility Worker Survey – MWS) with some preliminary results. In this webcast, Dr. Gray will:

• Describe a measure used to assess mobility device workers and their worksites
• Provide examples of trends in mobility device workers’ satisfaction, work concerns, support by work rues/management, perspectives on their co-workers, use of assistive technology and personal assistance

Little research has been conducted on employed people who are physically impaired and limited. Most of the research on those who have had a spinal cord injury has been on demographic variables for those who do or do not work. Research on effective interventions for return to work or acquisition of employment post-SCI is virtually non-existent. We conducted a three phased study of workers who use mobility devices to discover what they do at work (interviews, photos and video); to create and test a survey of workers who use mobility devices (construction of the measures and psychometrics); and analyze a sample of 132 workers for work concerns, satisfaction, AT and PA use, and a variety of other worker characteristics. The webcast will cover the basic attributes of the Mobility Worker Survey (MWS) and provide some preliminary results.

 Dr. Gray is a Professor of Neurology and Occupational Therapy at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He teaches a course on disability and social policy. He is the principal investigator on several research projects that investigate environmental factors influencing the participation of people with mobility, hearing and vision impairments. He helped establish the Enabling Mobility Center at Paraquad, a St. Louis Independent Living Center where people with mobility impairments and limitations are evaluated for the fit of their current assistive devices, tested for their skill in using their devices, exposed to alternative devices and trained in the use of their current or new devices.