Environmental Control Systems – A Starter Pack for Persons with High Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Objective. Environmental control systems (ECS) enable control of electronic devices and appliances in the home. Despite their proven efficacy however, there is limited access to ECS for those with high cervical spinal cord injuries (HCSCI) living in Ireland. This paper describes the outcome of providing a basic ECS in a simple starter pack that was installed and customized by an occupational therapist and is part of a larger study investigating the use of ECS with persons with HCSCI. Main content. This paper describes a basic ECS package that was developed by an occupational therapist for persons with HCSCI. This ECS pack was trialed during a 3-week pilot period with one person and subsequently evaluated over an 8-week period with six people living in their own homes in Ireland. The pack contents and individual customizations for persons with high cervical SCI are described. Findings. It was possible for an occupational therapist to design and install a basic pack of ECS and to customize it for the six participants’ in the study, including minor adjustment and maintenance of the ECS. Four participants were able to use the pack for the entire trial period of eight weeks and expressed an interest in having their own ECS if ECS was available to them. One participant used the pack for just three weeks as she received her own ECS during the trial. The remaining participant was not able to use the ECS independently. Conclusions. In Ireland there is limited access to ECS for persons with high cervical spinal cord injury. In situations where a multidisciplinary team approach to the installation of ECS is not available or practical, an appropriate and useful ECS starter pack can successfully be installed by an occupational therapist. Such an installation is however accompanied by technical challenges. Close collaboration with the ECS user facilitates customization of the ECS pack aimed at limiting abandonment. These findings contribute to a larger study that investigates the contribution that ECS makes to facilitating quality of life for persons with high cervical spinal cord injuries.; ;