Social Representations of the Wheelchair for People with Spinal Cord Injury

Authors

  • Viviane de Souza Pinho Costa Universidade Norte do Paraná
  • Marcia Regina Antonietto Costa Melo Universidade de São Paulo; Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto
  • Mara Lúcia Garanhani Universidade Estadual de Londrina
  • Dirce Shizuko Fujisawa Universidade Estadual de Londrina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692010000400014

Keywords:

Spinal Cord Injuries, Wheelchairs, Disable Persons, Locomotion

Abstract

In seeking to understand the social representation of the use of the wheelchair through the analysis of interviews with ten people who have suffered spinal cord injury, the construction of five representations was elaborated. The phenomenon experienced regarding the wheelchair provided a route of meanings and symbologies: essential equipment, after the person perceive the inability to walk; a symbol of disability when the person experienced functional dependence; means of locomotion and transport after the rescue of their potential functional; becoming an integral part or all of their body and, finally, the concept of autonomy on four wheels by adjusting to their new ability to walk emerges. The wheelchair as an extension of the modified body for spinal cord injury, returns them the right of locomotion, presents them not only with autonomy for various acts of life, but also restores their dignity, so essential to human life.

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Published

2010-08-01

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 4 (2010)

Section

Original Articles

License

RLAE’s authorship concept is based on the substantial contribution by each of the individuals listed as authors, mainly in terms of conceiving and planning the research project, collecting or analyzing and interpreting data, writing and critical review. Indication of authors’ names under the article title is limited to six. If more, authors are listed on the online submission form under Acknowledgements. The possibility of including more than six authors will only be examined on multicenter studies, considering the explanations presented by the authors.
Including names of authors whose contribution does not fit into the above criteria cannot be justified. Those names can be included in the Acknowledgements section.
 Authors are fully responsible for the concepts disseminated in their manuscripts, which do not necessarily reflect the editors’ and editorial board’s opinion.

 

How to Cite

Costa, V. de S. P., Melo, M. R. A. C., Garanhani, M. L., & Fujisawa, D. S. (2010). Social Representations of the Wheelchair for People with Spinal Cord Injury . Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 18(4), 755-762. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692010000400014