ハンドル形電動車いすの操作練習が高齢者の技能習得に及ぼす効果

抄録

The objective of this study is to determine the amount of practice required for elderly people to learn how to maneuver electric scooters with handles, as well as ways to reduce anxiety toward controlling such scooters.　Two types of experiments were conducted from October to November 2009.　The first experiment examined driving skills while practicing on a scooter course with narrow passages, L curbs, and slaloms.　The second experiment examined the practice of parking and backing up.　There were 14 participants in the study:seven men and seven women.　The participants ranged between the ages of 67 and 78, with an average age being 69.8 years.　Initially, state-trait anxiety inventory （STAI）, blood pressure, and pulse were measured.　After the participants had driven the course six times, measurements were recorded for the following:time taken to complete one round of the scooter course;state-trait anxiety inventory （STAI）;participant’s level of fear;blood pressure;pulse;and the number of driving errors.　The results showed that many of participants were able to maneuver the scooter with few mistakes.　Participants who were highly anxious before operating the equipment tended to make maneuvering errors.　Anxiety among all participants decreased as they drove through the course.　However, those who made many errors in the first part of the experiment were significantly more anxious following the experiment compared to those who made few errors.