Purpose and Objectives: Our goal is to address the gaps in our understanding of wheelchair skills training, particularly the safety and efficacy of such training for both powered wheelchair users and their caregivers, and the broad impact of skills training on health, function and social participation.
The project will occur in three phases and test three hypotheses:
Phase 1: Implementation of the WSP-P in participating sites.
Phase 2: Refinement of the WSP-P, specifically the evaluation criteria, training tips and educational materials.
Phase 3: Evaluation of the safety, efficacy and impact of the WST-P for older adults and their caregivers (Vancouver site only) who are receiving powered wheelchairs for the first time. We will study older adults and their caregivers who undergo the WST-P in the course of receiving powered wheelchairs for the first time, and compare their outcomes with their own baseline values as well as with historical controls at comparable time periods (recorded in the longitudinal study of Project II).
Hypothesis 1: Participants will improve their total percentage WST-P 4.1 performance scores by at least 25%.
Hypothesis 2: Participants will improve their total percentage WST-P 4.1 safety scores by at least 25% and will not experience any serious adverse events during training.
Hypothesis 3: Participants will improve at least 25% on a series of non-WST-P measures of impact (preliminary list provided earlier in Project II).
Published
Kirby RL, Miller WC, Routhier F, Demers L, Mihailidis A, Polgar J, Rushton P, Titus L, Smith C, McAllister M, Theriault C, Thompson K, Sawatzky B. Effectiveness of a Wheelchair Skills Training Program for Powered Wheelchair Users: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2015 Oct 26;96(11):2017-26.
MacGillivray MK, Sawatzky BJ, Miller WC, Routhier F, Kirby RL. Goal satisfaction improves with individualized power wheelchair skills training. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Submitted January 30, 2017.
Local Conferences
Kirby RL, Miller W, Routhier F, Demers L, Mihailidis A, Miller Polgar J, Rushton PW, Titus L, Smith C, McAllister M, Theriault C, Thompson K, Sawatzky B, Parker K. Effectiveness of a Wheelchair Skills Training Program (WSTP) for Powered Wheelchair Users: a randomized controlled trial. Proceedings of the Annual Department of Medicine Research Day; 2015 March 26; Halifax, NS. p53.
National Conferences
Kirby RL, Miller WC, Routhier F, Demers L, Mihailidis A, Miller-Polgar J, Smith C, McAllister M, Theriault C, Thompson K, Rushton PW. Effectiveness of a wheelchair skills training program for powered mobility users: a randomized controlled trial. Proceedings of the Canadian Association on Gerontology Meeting, CAG2012: Aging in a Changing World; 2012 October 18-20; Vancouver, BC. Abstract P 104, pp 152 – 153.
International Conferences
Kirby RL, Miller W, Routheir F, Demers L, Mihailidis A, Miller Polgar J, Rushton PW, Titus L, Smith C, McAllister M, Theriault C, Thompson K, Sawatzky B. Effectiveness of a Wheelchair Skills Training Program (WSTP) for Powered Wheelchair Users: a randomized controlled trial. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA). 2015 June 12-14; Denver, CO, RESNA Press, Arlington, VA.
Sawatzky B, Miller WC, Routhier F, MacGillivray MK and Kirby RL. Does ‘goal satisfaction’ improve with personalized power wheelchair skills training? Open Paper presented at the 32nd International Seating Symposium. Vancouver, B.C., 2016 March 1-4.