Motion Characteristics Involved When Institutionalized Elderly People Transfer Themselves from Wheelchairs to Beds

Abstract

The movement of four institutionalized elderly people while transferring themselves from a wheelchair to a bed was recorded with a video camera and observed in five separate phases to identify motion characteristics and how to use welfare equipment observed when elderly people requiring long-term care transfer themselves. The time required to make the transfer was measured from the video data. Health status information and history of falls of the subjects were collected from their records. The mean age of the subjects was 90.5 years (range 82 to 96 years), and two subjects had a history of falls (twice and seven times). As for the transfer movement, three subjects simultaneously performed two of these three phases : standing up phase, turning phase, and sitting down phase. Some redid the lift-off, turned while their trunks were tilted forward, and trembled during turning. There was a difference in supporting objects such as grab bars, the timing of using them, and the frequency of repositioning the feet during the turning phase. The total time for the transfer movement was between 7.9 and 14.1 seconds, and the time required to complete the standing up, turning, and sitting down phases accounted for 44% to 72% of the total time for five separate phases. The subject who had fallen seven times had the shortest total time, and the percentage of the standing up, turning and sitting down phases accounted for 49%. Transfer movements and the time required varied depending on the elderly individual, leading us to believe that it might serve as a clue in evaluating fall risk.