FYI. This is some timely and interesting research and they are looking for participants. See the request below. If you know anyone or any organization willing to share this survey with their members, please forward it along with the attachments.

Hello,

We are occupational therapy researchers at the University of Manitoba, who are interested in learning about how winter weather affects the ability of people who use wheeled mobility devices (i.e. wheelchairs and scooters) to take part in activities that are meaningful to them.

The purpose of this study is to answer the question “What challenges arise with wheelchair/scooter use in cold weather climates?”, and to identify what aspects of wheelchair/scooter products, natural and built environments (e.g. public buildings and parks or the home), social attitudes, and policy-level environment are most problematic in the wintertime in Manitoba. The results will be used to guide future research and address change needed in these areas.

As one part of a broader research study, we have developed the Winter Use of Wheeled Mobility Devices survey that takes about 35-40 minutes to complete. It will be available to for people to complete throughout the winter months (January - May 2012), and is available to be done on-line, on paper, or over the phone.

We are using posters, hand-outs, mail-outs, and word-of-mouth advertising to recruit people to participate in completing our survey. We are looking for a variation of wheeled mobility types (manual and power wheelchairs and scooters), geographic locations, age, and employment status. We greatly appreciate any and all help in getting the word out about our study, helping us to reach a broad group of people to better represent this population with our research.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact Pam Whaley by email at winterweather.research@gmail.com or by phone at 977-5617. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

The Winter Weather Research Team

-- Anders Swanson Active Transportation Project Coordinator Physical Activity Coalition of Manitoba | www.pacm.ca activetransportation@pacm.ca