Universal Health Products offer families a comprehensive selection of pediatric mobility solutions. With educational guidance, assistance with funding opportunities, and quality products, UHP empowers children to lead more independent lives.

UHC is a practical expression of the right to health. It involves coverage with quality health services – from promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliation – and financial risk protection.

Universal Health Products (UHP) is proud to support a variety of pediatric mobility solutions, including wheelchairs, gait trainers, standing frames and more. These products facilitate physical movement and contribute to children’s overall development, social engagement and well-being. It’s important to understand how each type of pediatric mobility product works, its benefits and considerations, and to consult with healthcare professionals and therapists when selecting the best options based on each child’s individual needs.

UHP is about ensuring that all people, everywhere, have access to quality health services without financial hardship. It requires the involvement of all sectors of society, with a commitment to addressing the social determinants of health that underlie the need for health coverage, such as education gaps, poverty, social injustice, and poor living conditions.

One example of a successful strategy is the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include a focus on universal health coverage. The SDGs are designed to guide countries toward achieving the targets of UHC by 2030, such as expanding equitable access to comprehensive, quality, people-centered health services, increasing and improving financing, and promoting multisectoral coordination to address the social determinants of health that ensure sustainability.

A key component of SDGs is leveraging existing initiatives that can help achieve the goals of UHC, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. PIH has been supporting efforts to implement the WHO framework in countries like Lesotho, where our team is working closely with a government-led task force on health financing and policy to drive progress towards UHC. The work includes identifying and leveraging successful strategies that can promote UHC, as well as determining the challenges to implementation.

Walkers

Walkers help you stay upright while walking and provide a wider base of support to reduce falls. There are several specialized types of walkers, and your healthcare provider will recommend the best one based on your needs and condition.

A standard walker has four rubber-tipped feet that you lift when you take a step. Two-wheeled walkers have wheels on the front two feet and glides on the back, so you push it forward as you move to avoid lifting it with every step. This offers more natural movement and can be more comfortable for some people than a traditional walker. Both styles can be fitted with attachments like baskets, bags, cup holders or trays, but make sure the added weight doesn’t affect stability.

Most walker models fold down for storage and transport. Some also have seats that unfold for rest stops. If you choose a walker with a seat, be sure to only use it for short breaks, and never attempt to sit on it while moving.

Using a walker can feel unnatural at first, but it is important to learn how to use it properly to get the most benefit. Your healthcare provider can teach you how to set up your walker correctly and adjust it to fit your body. They can also show you how to safely use it around obstacles like stairs, curbs and cords that could trip you.

To use your walker, hold on to the handles in front of you and place it next to or beneath the step you are climbing. Reach your weaker leg up to the walker and lean into it, stepping down with your stronger leg as you lower yourself into position.

Standers

Children with neurological conditions that reduce joint range of motion, cause spasticity, or exacerbate muscle tightness and shortness often benefit from using a stander. These devices enable them to experience their world from a different angle, which promotes increased self-efficacy and improves attention and participation in daily activities.

The type of stander will depend on the child’s individual needs and therapy goals. For example, a sit-to-stand stander allows a child to alternate between sitting and standing over time, which is ideal for kids with significant contractures. On the other hand, an abduction stander can be used to provide adequate hip abduction and, when combined with a 24-hour postural management program, can improve hip stability and alignment.

When choosing a standing device, consider the adjustability, durability and ease of cleaning that are required for long-term use. Ensure that the device is appropriate for the user’s size and weight, that it meets clinical requirements and adheres to medical guidelines. It should also allow for daily adjustments to achieve desired therapeutic outcomes.

When typically developing children are in a weight-bearing position, their bones and muscles gain strength and density. Incorporating standing into their daily routines can help disabled children to gain similar benefits, which is important for ensuring a strong and healthy skeletal system. Additionally, a standing device can take pressure off of sensitive areas on the body that could be at risk for skin breakdown and ulcers (pressure sores). It can also assist with improving circulation and gastrointestinal function. Finally, using a stander can improve respiratory function by enabling the lungs to expand more fully.

Specialized Seating Systems

The right seating system can improve postural control, provide skin protection and stability, as well as flexibly interface with various mobility base options. The specialized seating systems offered by Kessler can help individuals with complex special needs who require significant support in order to sit comfortably.

The specialized seating systems offer multiple adjustment options that shift the hips, pelvis and back into the proper sitting position to prevent stress and shear that can lead to pressure ulcers. They also minimize vibration, reduce fatigue and prevent uncomfortable hot spots. In addition, the specialized seating systems feature an innovative fabric cover with breathable foam and phase change material (PCM). The PCM absorbs and disperses heat to reduce thermal activity. The breathable foam allows air to circulate, which reduces shear forces and moisture that can contribute to skin problems.

Individuals with spinal cord injuries need a variety of supports and positioning strategies to address the many challenges associated with their condition. Specialized seating teams can provide education on how to best care for skin integrity, incorporating prevention into inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation programs. They can make recommendations for appropriate seating systems based on interface pressures, thermography and assessment of tissue viability.

The specialized seating systems offered by EMP Living can function as special needs adaptive seating for cerebral palsy, power chairs for cerebral palsy, therapy chair for cerebral palsy and more. They help to improve trunk control, promote an erect posture and provide stability that can enable people with cerebral palsy to manage daily activities more independently. Our CP chairs can be used at home, at school, in healthcare facilities and more. The specialized CP wheelchairs can also act as an aid to a person with cerebral palsy when they go out in public to participate in events, meet friends and attend social gatherings.