Evaluating equipment for people with disabilities: user and technical perspectives on basic commodes

Abstract

Disabled people often do not use the equipment supplied to them. Past work indicates that there are many reasons for this, including the low priority given to user views by the designers and manufacturers of such equipment. A number of different methodologies have been used to evaluate equipment. This paper describes an evaluation of basic commodes, a project funded by the Medical Devices Agency, Department of Health, in which both a user survey and technical tests were employed. A sample of 18 basic commodes, divided into four categories, was evaluated by 40 users, a questionnaire being administered to determine user views. A series of 13 technical tests was also carried out. The results showed that the preferred commodes as indicated by the users did not necessarily perform well in the technical tests, with at least one of the products having potentially serious design faults. It is suggested that users, therapists and engineers each have an essential contribution to make in the evaluation of equipment for disabled people.