Power-Assist Add-Ons for Older Adult Manual Wheelchair Users: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

Background: Manual wheelchairs promote independence among older adult users. However, the user's level of disability, strength, and stamina, and the environmental conditions in which the wheelchair is used, may limit the functionality of manual wheelchairs and their impact on independence and active aging. The use of power-assist add-ons may mitigate these limitations and allow an individual to age in place.

Objective: We propose to conduct a scoping review of scientific and gray literature to examine the use of power-assist add-ons by older adults who use manual wheelchairs, as well as their advantages, limitations, and potential benefits in promoting independence and active aging.

Methods: The review will be guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist, and we will use the Arksey and O'Malley scoping review methodology. The literature search will use a comprehensive approach and will be carried out in two phases: (1) a keyword and Medical Subject Headings search of electronic databases, proceedings, and symposia for relevant titles and abstracts and (2) a search of Google and Google Scholar. Articles will be selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. We will include studies of power-assist add-ons for older manual wheelchair users (aged ≥65 years) across any health condition or setting. We will exclude studies not focused on power-assist add-ons or older adults. Data will be synthesized through thematic analysis (attitudes and efficacy) and directed content analysis (limitations and gaps). Results will be summarized narratively and in tables. The findings will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications and conferences focused on rehabilitation or gerontology.

Results: We will synthesize data on power-assist add-ons by compiling a list of devices, analyzing attitudes toward their use, identifying limitations, and highlighting gaps in the literature. We expect to publish the results in 2025.

Conclusions: The information obtained through this review could inform future research involving wheelchair producers, suppliers, and prescribers.

International registered report identifier (irrid): PRR1-10.2196/56375.