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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. 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. 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. 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. [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]

The objectives were: (1) to translate and adapt the International Society of Wheelchair Professional (ISWP) basic Wheelchair Service Provision Test (bWSPT) into French-Canadian and (2) to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the French-Canadian version of the ISWP bWSPT internal consistency and relations with other variables among French-Canadian occupational therapy students. For Phase 1, based on the International Test Commission Guidelines for Translating and Adapting Tests, a forward translation and adaptation from English to French-Canadian was conducted by a translation team. For Phase 2, the validity evidence of the French-Canadian bWSPT was evaluated through internal consistency and comparison of bWSPT scores and final grades of a wheelchair-specific course with a sample of occupational therapy students (positive, moderate correlation hypothesized). Internal consistency was measured with Cronbach's α. The correlation was calculated using the Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient. For phase 1, 61 of 167 items of the forward adaptation were revised and modified. All revisions were a consensus by the translation team. For phase 2, we found a Cronbach's α of 0.50 and a correlation of ⍴ = 0.27 (p = 0.43) between the bWSPT French-Canadian version and the wheelchair-specific course final grade. The low variability of the data may explain the lower-than-expected correlation. Other possible data-driven reasons have been explored using post-hoc analysis. The ISWP bWSPT, French-Canadian version, is not internally consistent and demonstrates a non-statistically significant, positive, weak correlation with the final grade of a wheelchair service provision-specific course among a cohort of 35 occupational therapy students. The lack of adequately educated wheelchair service providers is a contributing factor to inappropriate wheelchair provision worldwide. The ISWP Wheelchair Service Provision Basic Test (ISWP bWSPT) has been created to evaluate competency among wheelchair service providers and provides a standardized test recognized internationally. A French-Canadian version of the ISWP bWSPT allows competency testing of French-speaking wheelchair service providers across Canada. This study shows that the French-Canadian version of the test is not internally consistent and has a low correlation with a wheelchair provision-specific course among a cohort of 35 occupational therapy students at a French-Canadian university suggesting further refinement is required to improve its measurement properties in this population of test-takers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To develop an online version of the wheelchair maintenance training program (WMTP) and compare learning outcomes from the in-person and online programs using the wheelchair maintenance training questionnaire (WMT-Q), administered before and after the intervention. Design: Iterative development of an online version of the WMTP and implementation. Setting: Online. Participants: 26 graduate and undergraduate students. Intervention: Web-based training. These results are compared with those from another study of the in-person WMTP with 10 participants. Main outcome measures: Feedback survey and WMT-Q. Results: The training program was well-received and valued by all 26 participants. A significant increase in all scores after the online training program was found, based on pre-/post-intervention scores. In manual wheelchair open-ended questions, knowledge increased from 16% to 21%, p <.05; in power wheelchair open-ended questions, from 9% to 31%, p <.05; in multiple-choice questions related to knowledge, from 27% to 59%, p <.05; confidence increased from 8% to 80%, p <.05; and capacity from 12% to 88%, p <.05. There was no statistical difference in WMT-Q scores between individuals who participated in the in-person and online programs. Conclusion: This study indicates that there was a similar-increased knowledge for participants, indicating that web-based training may be a viable approach for delivering maintenance training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the opinions of providers of mobility assistive technologies to help inform a research agenda and set priorities. Materials and methods: This survey study was anonymous and gathered opinions of individuals who participate in the process to provide wheelchairs and other assistive technologies to clients. Participants were asked to rank the importance of developing various technologies and rank items against each other in terms of order of importance. Participants were also asked to respond to several open-ended questions or statements. Results: A total of 161 providers from 35 states within the USA consented to participation and completed the survey. Conclusions: This survey revealed themes of advanced wheelchair design, assistive robotics and intelligent systems, human machine interfaces and smart device applications. It also outlined priorities for researchers to provide continuing education to clients and providers. These themes will be used to develop research and development priorities. • Research in advanced wheelchair design is needed to facilitate travel and environmental access with wheelchairs and to develop alternative power sources for wheelchairs.• New assistive robotics and intelligent systems are needed to help wheelchairs overcome obstacles or self-adjust, assist wheelchair navigation in the community, assist caregivers and transfers, and aid ambulation.• Innovations in human machine interfaces may help advance the control of mobility devices and robots with the brain, eye movements, facial gesture recognition or other systems.• Development of new smart devices is needed for better control of the environment, monitoring activity and promoting healthy behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design, a cornerstone of engineering education, necessarily involves a practical training approach, which often requires educators to navigate non-traditional learning environments. Ambiguity in design is the result of the existence of multiple solutions to a given problem, and the need to find an optimal solution most often based on incomplete information. Research in design education over the years has showcased the importance of providing feedback, coaching over teaching, and including several hands-on activities with clear learning objectives. It is unclear whether this research knowledge has transcended into actual design classrooms, and whether there exists barriers or facilitators in teaching design. In a qualitative interview study with 38 design educators and administrators, we examined the practices and attitudes on teaching design, and any barriers or facilitators they faced, across a sample of schools within the United States. Additionally, we examined the use and faculty attitude on peer review, a potentially scalable approach for providing timely feedback on design. We found that the time faculty spend on teaching is significantly affected by incentives (and requirements) devised by their institutions. The recent growth in classroom sizes has resulted in reduced formative assessments. Faculty expressed concerns about low student engagement, poor communication skills, and their capacity to remain creative while taking risks. Furthermore, instructors supported use of peer learning activities, but they found implementing these activities challenging with respect to the technical needs and student motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing classroom sizes and decreasing financial and human resources have encouraged educators to seek innovative strategies to manage large classrooms. Several instructors have begun using web-based peer reviews as a way to increase open-ended feedback. Recent work in design-based classes has revealed that students struggle to provide meaningful peer feedback. Furthermore, it remains unclear how best to increase student motivation and engagement with the process. In a sophomore mechanical engineering class, we investigated the effect of a collaborative team of reviewers (a team of reviewers generating a single review) on the quality of feedback generated and on student perception of the process. Feedback generated by 117 students on their peers' design projects over two assignments was analyzed using a mixedmethods approach. We found that collaborative team of reviewers produced higher quality feedback than did individual reviewers. Students spent more time on reviews in teams but found the process engaging and more fun than with individual reviews. Furthermore, students perceived individual and team review tasks as requiring similar levels of effort. Our findings indicate that team review approach could help reviewers provide better feedback in engineering design reviews. Additionally, collaboration improved student engagement in the process. Over the past two decades, peer reviews have remained a solitary endeavor--this study is the first group process implementation of peer review and provides a basis for future exploration of the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Currently, there is no internationally accepted way to measure the competency of wheelchair service professionals. The International Society of Wheelchair Professionals aims to develop a Wheelchair Service Provision – Basic Test as a preliminary step towards establishing a certification process.Method: A team of wheelchair service provision experts developed test questions and conducted alpha and beta testing in order to validate them. Low-performing test items were eliminated. A pilot test was then conducted, which focused on developing a pass score, determining language barriers and validating the test as a measure of competency.Results: 90 participants completed one of three versions of the Wheelchair Service Provision – Basic Test. A pass score of 70% was established and 135 questions were accepted for the final test. Analysis of variance indicated there was a difference in scores based on language (p = 0.001), but not based on experience level. This result motivated translation in to the United Nations’ official languages.Conclusions: The results indicate that the Wheelchair Service Provision – Basic Test is a valid method for measuring basic competency of wheelchair professionals. Additionally, researchers recommend a skills assessment to help to ensure only qualified wheelchair professionals receive the certificate. Implications for RehabilitationIdentify key steps in contextually appropriate test development.Describe the components of a contextually appropriate, reliable, and valid test for basic wheelchair service provision.Identify methods used for contextually appropriate test validation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: The goal of this study was thus to determine if people with different types of wheelchair backrests on their personal wheelchairs reported different levels of comfort as measured by the Tool for Assessing Wheelchair disComfort (TAWC).Methods: Participants were between 18 and 80 years of age and were manual wheelchair users. The TAWC was used to assess the participants’ wheelchair seating discomfort levels with the wheelchair and seating systems.Results: We surveyed 131 wheelchair users to assess the comfort of their backrests on their personal wheelchairs and found a trend suggesting that rigid backrests are were less comfortable as compared with sling backrests. This finding was statistically significant in a subgroup of participants with tetraplegia.Conclusions: Although many clinicians expect rigid backrests to be more comfortable because they may provide more support, the higher discomfort ratings among rigid backrest users with tetraplegia may be due to sub-optimal shape, fit, adjustment or user preferences.Implications for RehabilitationDevelopment of a measure for long-term seating discomfort is needed.Design and development of better rigid backrests that are functional but provide adequate comfort are in need. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]