Comparison of two methods of bed-to/from-wheelchair transfer in patients with hemiparetic stroke

OBJECTIVES: The ability to transfer between surfaces is essential for wheelchair users’ independence. We hypothesized that transfer of hemiparetic stroke patients would be improved by using surfaces at the same height with no gap or obstacle between them. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted to compare the difficulty of two transfer methods as a pilot study. Thirteen hemiparetic stroke patients were transferred from a platform table to a chair (wheelchair or flat chair) and from the chair to the table using the regular and lateral transfer methods. Functional Independence Measure (FIM) transfer score in both transfer methods and Stroke Impairment Assessment Set (SIAS) score were measured. RESULTS: The FIM transfer score significantly increased in the lateral transfer condition compared with the regular transfer condition, indicating that the former method reduced the transfer difficulty, regardless of the SIAS scores. CONCLUSIONS: The transfer difficulty of patients with hemiparetic stroke decreases when using the lateral transfer method. The lateral transfer method is easy, potentially helping prevent care-related injuries among caregivers.