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Table 1 Demographics of stakeholder groups

From: A survey of stakeholder perspectives on exoskeleton technology

Wheelchair Users (n = 354)

Frequency

Percent

Gender

  - Male

194

54.8%

  - Female

160

45.2%

Age

  18-24

17

4.8%

  25-34

59

16.7%

  35-44

70

19.8%

  45-54

93

26.3%

  55-64

72

20.3%

  65 and above

43

12.1%

Country

  - Canada

197

55.6%

  - United States

129

36.4%

  - Other

27

7.6%

Diagnosis

  - SCI (paraplegia)

130

36.7%

  - SCI (quadriplegia)

87

24.6%

  - MS

30

8.5%

  - CP

24

6.8%

  - Muscular Dystrophy

19

5.4%

  - Post-polio

13

3.7%

  - Congenital SCI

12

3.4%

  - Stroke

10

2.8%

  - Other

32

9.0%

Hours per day using a wheelchair

  0–4 hours

35

9.9%

  5–8 hours

40

11.3%

  9–12 hours

86

24.3%

  12+ hours

193

54.5%

Previous use of an exoskeleton

  No

328

95.6%

  Yes

15

4.4%

Healthcare Professionals (n = 127)

Frequency

Percent

Gender

  - Male

44

34.6%

  - Female

83

65.4%

Country

  - Canada

76

59.8%

  - United States

41

32.3%

  - Other

10

7.9%

Profession

  Occupational Therapist

25

19.7%

  Physiotherapist

21

16.5%

  Equipment vendor

13

10.3%

  Nurse

9

7.1%

  Support staff

8

6.3%

  Rehabilitation assistant

7

5.5%

  Rehabilitation engineer

7

5.5%

  Clinic director/manager

6

4.7%

  Assistive technology specialist*

5

3.9%

  Research professional

5

3.9%

  Physician

3

2.4%

  Orthotist

2

1.6%

  Other**

16

12.6%

Previous use of an exoskeleton

  No

108

93.1%

  Yes

8

6.9%

  1. Breakdown of characteristics of the 481 respondents, by stakeholder group.
  2. *This category included job titles such as seating specialist, AT provider
  3. **This category consists of specific job titles of which there were two or fewer incidences which could not be grouped into the other categories, e.g. social worker, disability services provider.