There are about 30- 40 thousand spinal cord injury (SCI) patients in Taiwan and increase 1200 new patients annually. The main reason to cause the injury is traffic accident then falling from high ground. Male to female patient ratio is about 5:1. It occurred more often in male population. The average age of injury is 27-32 years old. Most SCI patients like to conduct outdoor activities, and most of them are daily routine activities. They also take field trip very often; however, they usually travel to remote destination with better barrier-free facility.
So far, no similar study has been done about what factors and difficulties they encounter when they engage in outdoor activities starting from their homes to the place they want to go in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to investigate their causes and problems of the spinal cord injury patients in Taiwan. The method of study is adopted in-depth interview and using the specific object (the spinal cord injury patients) as an objective of interview. We can obtain the detail and the difficulty they encounter when they engage in outdoor activities in ordinary life from this processing form. The content of interview includes：(1) the personal factors, physical and economic reasons. (2) the use of wheeled mobile device, (3) the access and convenience of transportation, and (4) the convenience of open environment for them. From this interview, we can summarize the immediate need for them to participate regular outdoor activities are as follows:
1.To provide wheeled mobile device designers suggestion on making more user oriented and friendly devices.
2.To suggest the government should encourage proprietor to provide the low flower buses for spinal cord injury patients, so they can transport freely by their own.
3.To provide the information of the difficulties of spinal cord injury patients encounter when they engage in outdoor activities in public environment.
4.To educate general public the barrier-free environment.
