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Research

Research

The Kalogon team loves looking at data.
We are excited to share more information about how to live a more active, seated life.

Hear about new research by signing up for our newsletter.

Inaugural Seating & Sitting Survey
January 2024

Up until this point, we have mainly shared our findings in our white paper, case study, and webinars. We are excited to share more information about seating and sitting, and the impacts of those on everything from pressure injuries to how people can live a more active, seated life.

A wheelchair-user sitting at a desk with a laptop, surrounded by a graphic illustrating various survey topics

or read more about the survey purpose and methods below

Graphics showing average hours before feeling uncomfortable among US reps (2.7 hours) and wheelchair users (3.7 hours)

Kalogon digs into some of the top questions for US sitters including a sizable examination of people who use wheelchairs. This short report looks at how long people sit, feelings around sitting, comfortable and uncomfortable places to sit, and how people deal with the impacts of sitting. Importantly, we examine how many people have experienced pressure injuries.

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"There are myriad reasons why people sit for extended times–due to their jobs, disabilities and more. While it’s noble to encourage more movement, we can’t ignore the very valid reasons why people need to sit and must strive to improve seated wellness for those who do. Seating hasn’t been disrupted in 50 years, but we can massively improve our seated health by applying the best in health tech available to our butts."
Tim Balz, CEO of Kalogon

Survey highlights

Graphics representing that more than 1 in 10 in a US Rep Population 
and in half of the Wheelchair Users experience pressure injuries

Pressure injuries (PIs) are one of the
leading causes of preventable death in the United States. These injuries develop due to unmitigated pressure applied to the skin and deep tissue when seated for long periods of time. These can happen to anyone, not just those seating for their mobility.
 

 


For more, see Kalogon’s White Paper

Graphics showing that about 1% of the population has a wheelchair and much more people sit for long periods of time

16% have a disability that requires sitting for extended periods. In this group 14% use a wheelchair for at least 30 minutes a day, representing about 2% of the population. Wheelchair Foundation estimates that about 1% of the population has a wheelchair and notes “With the world population increasing by 187,500 each day, there is an additional need for almost 3,500 wheelchairs every day (1.85% of the world population).”

Graphics showing the statistics of the most uncomfortable seating for long periods

There’s no truly comfortable place to sit. There are LOTS of uncomfortable spaces for folks – and for both US Rep and Wheelchair users super hard seats (bar stools, bleachers/floor)rise to the top. More than a quarter of wheelchair users also see discomfort in their mobility devices, showing a need for ongoing tools to increase comfort in daily life. Among the US rep audience. airplane seats are the fifth most uncomfortable.

Methodology

Survey instrument and analysis created by Kalogon team and programmed using Centimentonline survey tools. Survey fielded Oct 20–Nov 29, 2023. Total survey was about 7 minutes in length with 36 total questions, although not all respondents were required to answer all questions. This report represents highlights. Data set is available for academic researchers by reaching out to the Kalogon Research Team at science@kalogon.com.

Graphics showing that Wheelchair Users are the vanguard in their consciousness of health & seating and spend more time thinking about seated comfort
Graphics showing that 51% of Wheelchair Users and 13% of US Reps have experienced pressure injury

Referenced in this report are two populations:

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US Rep/US General Population (n=1,045)

•Purchased sample fromCentimentas US Rep (e.g.balanced for age, gender, HHI)

•No screening criteria used

 

Wheelchair Users (n=272)

•Natural distribution of people indicated a disability that required sitting for long periods and wheelchair use Over-sample for Wheelchair Users (n=206)

•Purchased sample from Centiment with conditions that may make it more likely that someone uses a wheelchair including muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s

•Screening criteria for wheelchair usageAdditional purchased sample (n=42)

•Ad purchased in a New Mobility e-newsletter on Nov 1 with an unbranded invitation to take a survey

Please note sample sources - these were groups that could be targeted for research purposes and may not represent all wheelchair users. That said, survey data does represent these respondents’ experiences, all of whom indicated wheelchair usage. There is a small overlap of 24 people who appear in both surveys, additional completed surveys are considered wherever wheelchair users are referenced as detailed below.N=24, From US Rep survey

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