Article

PURPOSE: To explore the relationship between level of happiness in people with
post-polio syndrome (PPS) and assistive technology (AT) by taking into account
confounding factors such as age, gender and house composition. MethoD: Existing
data from 218 adults with PPS, who had completed a cross-sectional survey
conducted by the British Polio Fellowship in 2007, were used for a secondary
quantitative analysis. Ordinal logistic regression was applied to determine
whether ownership of or the need for AT predicted happiness in people with PPS.
ResulTS: Ownership of AT did not predict happiness, whereas the perceived need
for AT was a significant predictor of feeling less happy (p = 0.028). Among the
different types of AT needed, only need of home adaptations combined with major
equipment was close to being significantly associated with less happiness (p =
0.078). Being older (p < 0.001) and living with a partner (p < 0.001)
significantly increased the likelihood of feeling happier. CONCLUSION: The
findings indicate the importance of the contribution of need for AT in explaining
happiness in people with PPS. The fact that users reported unmet equipment needs
urge for increased user decision making and better understanding of why perceived
needs are not resolved. [Box: see text].

Langue : ANGLAIS