Travel with Confidence: survey results
During June and July 2024, we distributed surveys to thousands of our members and conducted focus groups to understand what is important to people with spinal cord injury when travelling. The Travel with Confidence team would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who took time to complete the Travel with Confidence survey, sent out earlier in the year.
Here, we take a look at the results from that survey and find out what issues are most important to you
Survey Results
Total number of responses:
- People living with spinal cord injury (“SCI”) 1,508
- Supporting someone: 225
- Healthcare Professional: 138
- Wheelchair services: 23
TOTAL: 1,894
75.37% of respondents living with SCI said they previously experienced challenges when travelling.on
48.45% of respondents living with SCI said that their mobility equipment doesn’t allow them to participate in all the activities they want to do
8% of respondents had no positive experiences of travel that they could share.
General issues raised (across all modes of transport)
- Bladder/bowel issues during travel. Accessible toilets are often not accessible or mis-employed, which leads to a fear of incontinence when travelling.
- Needing support and not being able to travel independently.
- Pain/co-morbidities – risk of pressure sores, limited hand function (unable to handle tickets).
- 5 people specifically mentioned invisible disabilities – because they can walk, the help they need is questioned/not available.
DOWNLOAD THE SURVEY INFOGRAPHIC
Next Steps
We are working on gathering information relating to travel, accessibility and assistance available across all modes of transport, as well as how to obtain a wheelchair and what to expect during a wheelchair assessment.
We are filming videos, recording interviews and producing fact sheets, all of which will be available on the new section of SIA’s website, which will be launched by the summer of 2025.
We will also be focusing on areas for improvement and campaigning on behalf of our members in 2025.