Wheelchair Skills Test Outcomes across Multiple Wheelchair Skills Training Bootcamp Cohorts.

Edward Giesbrecht

doi:10.3390/ijerph19010021

Abstract

User training is a critical component of wheelchair service delivery to ensure individuals with a mobility impairment can negotiate environmental barriers and promote their social participation. A wheelchair “bootcamp”, delivered during professional preparation education, is one strategy to better prepare occupational therapists for clinical rehabilitation practice by developing their own wheelchair skills. The purpose of this study was a retrospective review of a large dataset of student cohorts from a single site and delineate bootcamp effects on the Wheelchair Skills Test-Questionnaire (WST-Q) scores. Participant data from eight cohorts was consolidated (n = 307). Comparison of two WST-Q scoring formats revealed significantly lower scores for cohorts using the 4-point version, which was subsequently standardized to the other 3-point version. WST-Q change scores were similar between cohorts, and differences were more reflective of variability in skill level prior to bootcamp than post-bootcamp scores. Students were able to master most basic and intermediate level skills, while advanced skill acquisition was much more variable. This study provides more precise point estimates of wheelchair skill acquisition among occupational therapy students than previous studies. While confirming the benefits of bootcamp education, recommendations for further investigation were identified.

Highlights

Best practice in wheelchair service provision should entail user and caregiver training in mobility skills [1,2]
To address the four different versions of the Wheelchair Skills Test-Questionnaire (WST-Q) used (2013–2014 v 4.2; 2015–2017 v 4.3; 2018–2019 v 5.0; 2020 v 5.1), a comprehensive inventory of all 34 possible questionnaire items from the four different versions was created within the spreadsheet
Was repeated with option A and only cohort 8 remained significantly lower for both pre (F = 8.4; df = 7, 299; p < 0.001) and post (F = 14.8; df = 7, 299; p ≤ 0.001) scores and only cohort 7 had a significantly lower change score (F = 2.8; df = 7, 299; p < 0.008)

Summary

Introduction

Best practice in wheelchair service provision should entail user and caregiver training in mobility skills [1,2]. The use of a structured evidence-informed training program, such as the Wheelchair Skills Program (WSP) [3], has demonstrated significant and clinically important improvements to the skill capacity and performance of wheelchair users [4,5], which in turn can positively impact participation, wheelchair self-efficacy, and quality of life [6,7]. While such evidence is persuasive, delivery of skills training in clinical practice remains variable [8] and is often brief and focused on the most basic wheelchair skill set [9]. Intensive experiential learning workshops (i.e., wheelchair “bootcamps”) have been demonstrated to produce substantive improvements in occupational therapy students’ capacity and self-efficacy regarding wheelchair use [10,11,12], and their self-efficacy to deliver such training to their future clients [12,13]

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Conclusion