Aim

This Marie Curie Global Postdoctoral fellowship aims to increase physical activity among wheelchair users. It also aims to contribute to the broader goals of diversity and inclusion for people with mobility limitations, by fostering greater accessibility and participation through innovative technology and research.

 

Background

Wheelchair users are three to five times less active than the general population, which increases their risk of developing preventable health issues. Although there are physical activity guidelines for wheelchair users, we still need effective ways to implement these guidelines and accurate technology to monitor physical activity change.

aims to increase physical activity in wheelchair users by creating digital monitoring and feedback tools, helping to put the physical activity guidelines into action.

 

 

Fellowship timeline

 

* RCT = randomized controlled clinical trial

 

consists of three phases: two years at the University of British Columbia (UBC), while working together with experts on behavioral intervention studies in wheelchair users; one year at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and half a year at Maastricht Instruments, the latter two phases being dedicated to developing digital physical activity monitoring technologies.

 

 

Objectives

1. Measure the effect of a pragmatic exercise intervention trial on self-reported physical activity levels and cardio-respiratory fitness in wheelchair users with spinal cord injury.
2. Develop valid algorithms for tracking physical activity markers in wheelchair users (continuation of the DigiW project)
3. Co-create a framework that outlines how physical activity can be conjointly monitored and provided feedback on in wheelchair users