Development of a toolkit for educators of the wheelchair service provision process: the Seating and Mobility Academic Resource Toolkit (SMART) (original) (raw)
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Wheelchair service provision education in academia
African Journal of Disability
Background: An estimated 70 million people with disabilities need wheelchairs. To address this global crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed an eight-step wheelchair service provision model to ensure service quality regardless of resource setting. The International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) aims to facilitate the integration of the WHO eight-step model into professional rehabilitation programmes.Objective: To develop an enhanced understanding of the current wheelchair service provision education provided in professional rehabilitation programmes worldwide.Methods: In a cross-sectional design, an online survey was distributed to ISWP contacts of educational institutions. Quantitative responses were analysed through summary statistics and qualitative answers were analysed by content analyses. When relevant, educational institutions were stratified into resource settings.Results: Seventy-two representatives of educational institutions in 21 countries comp...
Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology
Purpose: Appropriate wheelchair provision is necessary for addressing participation barriers experienced by individuals with mobility impairments. Health care professionals involved in the wheelchair service provision process require a specific set of skills and knowledge to enable wheelchair use that meets individual posture, mobility and daily living requirements. However, inconsistencies exist in academic programmes globally about providing comprehensive education and training programmes. The planned scoping review aims to review and synthesize the global literature on wheelchair service provision education for healthcare professional students, healthcare personnel and educators offered by universities, organizations and industries. Methods: This scoping review will be guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodological framework. Comprehensive literature searches will be conducted on various global electronic databases on health to seek out how wheelchair service provision education is organized, integrated, implemented and evaluated. Two independent reviewers will perform eligibility decisions and key data extractions. Data from selected studies will be extracted and analysed using conventional content analysis. Information related to wheelchair service provision education including curriculum development, content, teaching methods, evaluation and models of integration will be synthesized. Implications and dissemination: The planned scoping review will be the first to examine all aspects of wheelchair service provision education across professionals, settings and countries. We anticipate that results will inform the content of a Wheelchair Educators' Package, and if appropriate, a follow-up systematic review. An article reporting the results of the scoping review will be submitted for publication to a scientific journal. ä IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION A comprehensive examination of wheelchair service provision education could help develop strategies to address the unmet need for wheelchair services globally. Findings for this review will facilitate the planning and development of an evidence-based education package that could bridge the existing knowledge gaps related to safe and effective wheelchair service provision among health professionals involved. This review will also inform the potential barriers and enablers for effective integration and implementation of wheelchair service provision education worldwide.
Developing wheelchair training program for rehabilitation and occupational therapy students
Developing wheelchair training program for rehabilitation and occupational therapy students, 2018
There is a critical need for trained wheelchair service provision professionals. Wheelchair service provision is underdeveloped across the world. People in developing countries often depend on the donation of wheelchairs, which are frequently of poor quality and neither suitable nor customized either for the users or their environment. Health and rehabilitation professionals are not always trained adequately to ensure people with disabilities get a quality and custom-fitted wheelchair. Furthermore, there is a great variability and inconsistency in what and how wheelchair-related content is taught and evaluated. Therefore, in 2015 until 2017 standardized training packages were developed by a team of experts around the world by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). There is a lack of comprehensive wheelchair service provision training in Jordan, and the clinical applications of wheeled mobility and seating interventions are not well-integrated into rehabilitation curricula at many clinical and academic institutions. In response to the need of more competent wheelchair professionals and to enhance the quality of service delivery to wheelchair users, a team of researchers in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Jordan developed The Wheelchair Training Program (WTP).
Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology
Purpose: Access to an appropriate wheelchair is a human right. Only between 5-15% of people who need a wheelchair have access to one. One of the key barriers to access is the lack of appropriately trained rehabilitation professionals. The objective of this study was to evaluate basic manual wheelchair provision knowledge in final-year physiotherapy undergraduate students in two programs in Colombia. Materials and methods: Students took the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals Wheelchair Service Provision-Basic Test which was administered online and in Spanish. The minimum score to pass the test is 70%; it assesses seven domains: Assessment; Prescription; Products; Fitting; User training; Follow-up, maintenance, and repairs; and Process. Results and conclusions: One-hundred sixteen students took the test and no one passed the test. The highest median domain scores were in Assessment and Process while the lowest were in Fitting and Products. The limitations of this study include that this sample does not represent all physiotherapy programmes or students in Colombia, there may be potential errors in the Spanish translation of the outcome measure, and students encountered Internet connectivity issues during the test that may have impacted their scores. Immediate interventions are required to improve teaching and students' learning outcomes related to basic manual wheelchair provision in these two programs. This study may serve as a foundation for future regional or national studies that assess the situation of wheelchair provision training in rehabilitation programs that will inform improvement actions. This manuscript is also available in Spanish as Supplemental Material. ä IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION This study indicates that students' current knowledge on basic appropriate manual wheelchair provision from two physiotherapy programs in Colombia is insufficient. Students' knowledge does not align with the minimum guidelines recommended for wheelchair service provision by the World Health Organization. Objectively identifying the gap in knowledge in rehabilitation trainees (i.e., physiotherapy students) is a strategy to promote the inclusion of assistive technology related content in formal academic training. The need to include formal training of appropriate wheelchair provision persists and without this training, people with disabilities who require a wheelchair for mobility will continue to face barriers to full participation in society.
PLOS ONE
Introduction Wheelchair users worldwide are at high risk of developing secondary health conditions and premature death due to inappropriate wheelchair provision by untrained providers. The International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) has developed a Hybrid Course based on the World Health Organization's Wheelchair Service Training Package-Basic Level. The Hybrid Course leverages online modules designed for low-bandwidth internet access that reduces the in-person training exposure from five to three and a half days, making it less expensive and more convenient for both trainees and trainers.
Trials, 2013
Background: Many older adults rely on a manual wheelchair for mobility but typically receive little, if any, training on how to use their wheelchair effectively and independently. Standardized skill training is an effective intervention, but limited access to clinician trainers is a substantive barrier. Enhancing Participation in the Community by Improving Wheelchair Skills (EPIC Wheels) is a 1-month monitored home training program for improving mobility skills in older novice manual wheelchair users, integrating principles from andragogy and social cognitive theory. The purpose of this study is to determine whether feasibility indicators and primary clinical outcome measures of the EPIC Wheels program are sufficiently robust to justify conducting a subsequent multi-site randomized controlled trial. Methods: A 2 × 2 factorial randomized controlled trial at two sites will compare improvement in wheelchair mobility skills between an EPIC Wheels treatment group and a computer-game control group, with additional wheelchair use introduced as a second factor. A total of 40 community-dwelling manual wheelchair users at least 55 years old and living in two Canadian metropolitan cities (n = 20 × 2) will be recruited. Feasibility indicators related to study process, resources, management, and treatment issues will be collected during data collection and at the end of the study period, and evaluated against proposed criteria. Clinical outcome measures will be collected at baseline (pre-randomization) and post-intervention. The primary clinical outcome measure is wheelchair skill capacity, as determined by the Wheelchair Skills Test, version 4.1. Secondary clinical outcome measures include wheelchair skill safety, satisfaction with performance, wheelchair confidence, life-space mobility, divided-attention, and health-related quality of life.
Occupational Therapy International
Access to personal mobility is a human right and as such, it implies the provision of wheelchair services for those with mobility impairments that need one. Lack of appropriately trained personnel is a major contributor to the gap in access to wheelchairs. Assistive technology provision is one of the core competencies of occupational therapists. The goal of this study was to assess the current wheelchair provision knowledge of final year occupational therapy students in Colombia as measured by the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals Basic Wheelchair Service Knowledge Test. A total of 83 students from 7 universities took the test. None of the students met the 70% passing threshold. The highest scores were in the assessment domain while the lowest in the fitting and user training domains. These results suggest that the current wheelchair provision education received in these programs do not meet the World Health Organization guidelines on appropriate wheelchair provision...
Technology and Disability
The Obstacle Course Assessment of Wheelchair User Performance (OCAWUP) is a new tool designed to assess and document manual and motorized wheelchair user mobility performance in controlled environmental situations which are standardized and potentially difficult. The instrument is designed to cover environmental obstacles that are related to daily wheelchair use. In this paper, we present the methodology and results of the content validity process regarding the choice of items (obstacles) and development of the scoring system. The methodology comprises three steps: 1) determining obstacle categories through a literature review, 2) determining obstacles through a focus group and individual interviews, and 3) developing the scoring system through a focus group and individual interviews. The content validation triangulates three data sources: literature, opinions of experts (wheelchair users, occupational therapists and researchers) and Canadian norms for home adaptation. Consensuses were reached on the choice of categories and items, and the scoring system. According to various experts, the obstacles are representative of those encountered in daily activities and social roles. It is expected that the OCAWUP could help clinicians in their interventions with wheelchair users to improve their social participation. Other studies should be conducted to obtain more information about its validity and reliability properties.
Wheelchair Skills Training: A scoping review
Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 2021
This study aimed to examine the types of available evidence and knowledge gaps on wheelchair skills training among PWDs in literature. This study employed a scoping review method and was guided by Arksey and O'Malley's using five steps framework. A total of 15 peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria. The results support the effectiveness of wheelchair skills training through personal feedbacks from participants, observation and the use of standardized outcome measures, including self-perceived assessment. This study highlights the importance and benefit of wheelchair skills training to wheelchair users, caregivers and health personnel. Keywords: Keywords: Skill Training; Disability; Wheelchair; Scoping Review eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility...