Air Transportation
Creators: name: Miller, William C.
name: Himani Prajapati
name: Yao, Daryl
name: Labbé, Delphine
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
subject: Social and Behavioral Sciences
subject: Architecture
subject: FOS: Civil engineering
subject: Rehabilitation and Therapy

description: Identifying the air travel experiences of passengers with disabilities: A Scoping Review Background: Access to air travel for all people with disabilities is critical to ensuring access to health care, employment, and recreation. Moreover, travelling gives a sense of being free and in control thereby building self-confidence and overcoming self-doubt.1 In a recent survey, Paralysed Veterans of America found that 84% of the 1300 people with spinal cord injury (SCI) surveyed had at least one negative experience when they flew in the past two years. Indeed, people with disabilities encounter numerous physical (e.g., airplanes and bathrooms accessibility, unsafe and broken aisle chairs) and social barriers (e.g., personnel knowledge and attitude) which lead to negative experiences with air travel, ultimately limiting their community participation and negatively impacting their health (e.g., inducing pain, causing pressure sores).2 Several discrimination lawsuits related to lack of bathroom accessibility, damage to wheelchairs and other assistive technology lead to the expansion of the Air Carrier Access Act of 1988. However, the law has been insufficient in making air travel accessible and safe for individuals with disabilities.3,4 To better understand the issues encountered by individuals with disabilities, we will conduct a scoping review to document the experiences of people with disabilities regarding air travel and the main factors impacting their travel. Scoping reviews use clearly defined approaches and explicit screening criteria to look at the literature on a topic that has received little attention. Methods: The structure of the scoping review will follow the methodological framework outlined by Arksey and O'Malley.5 The search strategy will be developed in accordance with the published guidelines6 and in consultation with a librarian. The search terms will target disability (disabilit* or "disabled" or wheelchair* or handicap* or crutch* or mental disorder* or blind* or deaf*), air travel, experiences, (airport* or airline* or "air travel*" or "airplane" or "aircraft" or aviation or "air carrier" or airport or flight*) and accessibility (accessibilit* or elevator* or escalator* or "social engagement*" or participation or barrier* or discrimination or ableism). The inclusion criteria for this review will be disability defined by the ADA, aging (with functional limitation), air transport policies, passenger experiences (including airport and website), civil aviation, written in English or French, from1990 to present. Exclusion Criteria will be articles not related to air travel, healthy aging, or obesity. Systematic searches will be conducted using Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Business Ultimate Source, TRID, CAB Direct, Academic Search Complete, and Web of Science. We will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA ScR) to report our results. 7 The data extracted will allow us to identify main themes identified in the literature including the ecological factors impacting air travel, recommendations for improvements and the gaps in the current knowledge. A two-stage screening process will be used to assess the relevance of articles identified from the literature search. Two authors will independently screen titles and abstracts (first stage screening) of retrieved articles to establish eligibility of articles that may fit inclusion criteria for analysis. Articles that satisfy first-level screening will be retained for second-level screening (review of the full-text article). Again, authors will independently screen full-text articles to determine inclusion in the scoping review. Upon completing each stage of the screening process, any discrepancies between the authors will be resolved through discussion. If any information appears to be missing from the retrieved articles, then the corresponding author will be contacted. Data from included studies will be charted using a standardized data extraction form develop for the study using Microsoft Excel 2016. The form will be used to record and assimilate extracted information on various study characteristics. Data Extraction: Research methodologies, geographical location, study population, interventions, outcome measures and statistical findings employed in the literature will be summarized with the goal of providing an overview of the literature and identifying any gaps. A narrative approach will be taken to evaluate these results, including identification of contradictory evidence, gaps in the literature, and potential areas for future research. Reference: 1. Bauer I. When travel is a challenge: Travel medicine and the ‘dis-abled’ traveller. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease. 2018/03/01/ 2018;22:66-72. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2018.02.001 2. Cole S, Whiteneck G, Kilictepe S, Wang W, Hoback N, Zhao H. Multi-stakeholder perspectives of environmental barriers to participation in travel-related activities after spinal cord injury. Disability and Rehabilitation. 06/15 2020;44:1-12. doi:10.1080/09638288.2020.1774669 3. Major WL, Hubbard SM. An examination of disability-related complaints in the United States commercial aviation sector. Journal of Air Transport Management. 2019/07/01/ 2019;78:43-53. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2019.04.006 4. Lazar J, Jaeger PT, Adams A, et al. Up in the air: Are airlines following the new DOT rules on equal pricing for people with disabilities when websites are inaccessible? Government Information Quarterly. 2010/10/01/ 2010;27(4):329-336. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2010.04.005 5. Arksey H, O'Malley L. Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology. 2005/02/01 2005;8(1):19-32. doi:10.1080/1364557032000119616 6. Aromataris E, Riitano D. Constructing a search strategy and searching for evidence. A guide to the literature search for a systematic review. Am J Nurs. May 2014;114(5):49-56. doi:10.1097/01.NAJ.0000446779.99522.f6 7. Tricco AC, Lillie E, Zarin W, et al. PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation. (1539-3704 (Electronic))