What fits me? Procurement of adapted tricycle for activity and participation

To determine which factors are relevant when applying for the most appropriate adapted tricycle for people with disabilities.

Patients participating in a rehabilitation programme and planning to apply for an adapted tricycle were invited to participate in an observational study. Measurements used were watts when pedalling, 6-minute walk test, the Trunk Impairment Scale, 30 s sit-to-stand test, Oxford Scale of muscle strength and range of motion testing. Participants answered questions about important factors for choice of tricycle. Nonparametric correlation tests were performed using SPSS to investigate relevant associations between test results and tricycle type.

The study included 37 participants with a large variety of complex disabilities who applied for 9 different adapted tricycles. Participants ranged in age from 5 to 79 years (M = 24 years, SD = 20), with almost half (49%) under 18 years of age. More than half of the participants (57%) were women. Most participants chose an assistive motor. Participants over 50 years applied for a recumbent tricycle. Answers on questionnaire revealed safety, comfort and mastery as important factors for tricycle choice.

Large variations in personal characteristics and needs indicate that individually tailored assessments are necessary to find the most appropriate tricycle.Implications for rehabilitationLarge variations of characteristics and needs among people with disabilities and tricycle types indicate individual-level analyses are necessary to find the most appropriate one.A large selection of tricycles and support from an experienced professional when testing are success factors for finding the most appropriate tricycle.