Peterson, Van Denend and Hammel funded by Paralyzed Veterans of America to refine the Falls Concern Scale for Wheelchair and Scooter Users
Liz Peterson, Toni Van Denend and Joy Hammel will serve as Co-Investigators of a three-year study led by Laura Rice (Associate Professor, UIUC) and funded by the Paralyzed Veterans of America. The main goals of the project are to refine the Falls Concern Scale for Wheelchair and Scooter Users (FCS-W/C+S) and examine the psychometric properties of the refined FCS-W/C+S among a sample of people living with spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis who use a wheelchair or scooters (WC/S) fulltime and who are representative of various ethnicities. As a secondary aim, the team will examine predictors of concerns about falling among people living with spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis who use WC/S fulltime. In addition to providing an important opportunity for interprofessional collaboration among UIC and UIUC faculty, the project supports the partnership between UIC/UIUC and Malmo University, Sweden, since Anders Kottorp (Professor, Malmo University) will contribute his expertise in instrument development to support refinement of the FCS-W/C+S.