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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. 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. 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. 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. 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To test the hypotheses that, in comparison with pushing an occupied upright manual wheelchair forward, pulling backward on the push-handles improves the objective and subjective ease with which a caregiver can get the wheelchair across a soft surface (e.g., grass, mud, sand, gravel); and the ease with which a caregiver can get the wheelchair across a soft surface improves if the wheelchair is tipped back into the wheelie position. We used a randomized crossover trial with within-participant comparisons to study 32 able-bodied pairs of simulated caregivers and wheelchair occupants. The caregiving participants moved an occupied manual wheelchair 5 m across a soft surface (7.5-cm-thick gym mats) under four conditions (upright-forward, upright-backward, wheelie-forward and wheelie-backward) in random order. The main outcome measure was time (to the nearest 0.1 s) and the main secondary measure was the ease of performance (5-point Likert scale). The upright-backward condition was the fastest (p < 0.05) and had the highest ease-of-performance scores. In the forward direction, there was no statistically significant difference in the time required between the upright and wheelie positions, but the wheelie position was considered easier. Although further study is needed, our findings suggest that caregivers should pull rather than push occupied wheelchairs across soft surfaces. In the forward direction, caregivers may find the wheelie position easier than the upright condition. These techniques have the potential to both improve the effectiveness of and reduce injuries to caregivers. Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT 04998539 Caregivers should pull rather than push occupied manual wheelchairs across soft surfaces. In the forward direction, caregivers may find the wheelie position easier than and preferable to the upright condition. These techniques have the potential to both improve the effectiveness of and reduce injuries to caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review aimed to collate and summarize available research literature about wheelchair service provision education available to healthcare professional students, healthcare personnel and educators across low- to high-resourced settings. The Joanna Briggs Institute methodological steps for scoping reviews were followed. Included studies were mainly sourced from Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Academic Search Complete and ProQuest. Independent title, abstract and full-text screening with defined inclusion and exclusion criteria was performed. All screening and extraction were performed independently by two authors. A thematic approach was used to synthesize results. Data extracted from included studies were charted according to a template that we created. The study quality was also appraised. A total of 25 articles were included (11, 36% from high-income settings) with 12 (48%) observational studies and 13 (52%) experimental studies. The literature addressed three main topics: (1) assessing wheelchair service provision knowledge, (2) implementing training interventions using in-person, online and/or hybrid learning approaches and (3) describing current wheelchair service provision education globally. The most frequently reported training programs used were the Wheelchair Skills Program and the World Health Organization Wheelchair Service Training Package – Basic Level. Limited information has been published about the integration of wheelchair content into the curricula of professional rehabilitation programs. Efforts to build international partnerships, improve the quality and currency of training programs and build resources that can assist educators in the integration of wheelchair-related content into professional rehabilitation programs should be prioritized. This is the first review that examined and synthesized the current state of wheelchair service provision education for rehabilitation students and personnel across low- to high-income countries. Findings from this review indicate that there is limited information about the integration of wheelchair-related content into professional rehabilitation programs. Efforts to build international partnerships, standardize wheelchair service provision content and evaluation and integrate training into professional rehabilitation programs worldwide should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]