A Remote-Learning Course can improve the subjective wheelchair-skills performance and confidence of wheelchair service providers: an observational cohort study

Abstract

Purpose

To test the hypothesis that a Remote-Learning Course improves the subjective wheelchair-skills performance and confidence of wheelchair service providers, and to determine the participants’ views on the Course.

Methods

This was an observational cohort study, with pre-post comparisons. To meet the objectives of the six-week Course, the curriculum included self-study and weekly one-hour remote meetings. Participants submitted their Wheelchair Skills Test Questionnaire (WST-Q) (Version 5.3.1) “performance” and “confidence” scores before and after the Course. Participants also completed a Course Evaluation Form after the Course.

Results

The 121 participants were almost all from the rehabilitation professions, with a median of 6 years of experience. The mean (SD) WST-Q performance scores rose from 53.4% (17.8) pre-Course to 69.2% (13.8) post-Course, a 29.6% relative improvement (p < 0.0001). The mean (SD) WST-Q confidence scores rose from 53.5% (17.9) to 69.5% (14.3), a 29.9% relative improvement (p < 0.0001). Correlations between performance and confidence were highly significant (p < 0.0001). The Course Evaluation indicated that most participants found the Course useful, relevant, understandable, enjoyable, “just right” in duration, and most stated that they would recommend the Course to others.

Conclusions

Although there is room for improvement, a Remote-Learning Course improves the subjective wheelchair-skills performance and confidence scores of wheelchair service providers by almost 30%, and participants were generally positive about the Course.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• A Remote-Learning Course improves the subjective wheelchair-skills performance and confidence scores of wheelchair service providers by almost 30%.

• Participants were generally positive about the Course.

Keywords:

• Wheelchair
• training
• motor skills
• rehabilitation
• tele-health

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the support of the Ontario Spinal Cord Injury Implementation and Evaluation Quality Care, in particular Drs. B. Cathy Craven, Dalton L. Wolfe, Farnoosh Farahani (Network Manager) and Julianne Hong (Implementation Support).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Geolocation information

This study was conducted in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (gps coordinates 44° 39′ 3.8520″ N and 63° 34′ 57.6732″ W).

Reprints

Not available from the authors.

Registration number

This study was registered with OSF https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/5SY94.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Wheelchair Skills Program Trust Fund (#T754).