"Back at the same level as everyone else"-user perspectives on walking with an exoskeleton, a qualitative study

Abstract

Study design: Qualitative, in-depth research interviews led by a theme-based interview guide.

Objectives: To generate new knowledge regarding user experiences of standing and walking with Ekso™ (Ekso Bionics, Richmond, CA, USA).

Setting: In-patient rehabilitation hospital in Norway.

Methods: Systematic inductive content analyses were used, utilizing a pattern theory of self as an analytical framework.

Results: The participants shared powerful stories, describing largely positive but also challenging emotions and perceptions, related to standing and walking with Ekso™. Four themes emerged: (1) bodily positions, possibilities and feelings, (2) reactivation of loss and hope for the future, (3) to be free and restricted at the same time, and (4) to be controlled and take control. The results indicate that both walking and using a wheelchair involve more than getting from one place to another, as fundamental aspects of being human are touched, involving facilitating a coherent understanding of the self and, on the other hand, leading to an "objectification" of the body.

Conclusions: This explorative study points toward contrasts involved when using Ekso™. More studies of lived experiences with walking in Ekso™ are needed, comprising larger samples, variations in participant characteristics and diagnoses as well as contexts.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Outcomes research; Rehabilitation.