ABSTRACT

Objective: To determine the extent to which occupational therapists (OTs) in NS conduct wheelchair skills training for their clients and caregivers, how much training is provided and the OTs' views on training.

Methods: We developed an online questionnaire with the help of a focus group and distributed it primarily through the College of OT of NS, NSHA Managers and Facebook.

Results: We received 125 responses (23%). Ninety-two (92) responded that they helped clients obtain manual wheelchairs in their direct patient care. In answer to the question "When you assist a client in obtaining a manual wheelchair, do you typically provide wheelchair-skills training?", 40 (43.5%) answered "Yes, usually", 45 (48.9%) "Sometimes" and 7 (7.6%) "No, usually not". A median of 2 training sessions were provided, each lasting 30 minutes. Sixty-five (73.9%) considered such training "Very important" and 22 (25%) "Somewhat important". Only 30 (34.1%) felt adequately prepared for client training. In answer to the question "When you assist a client in obtaining a manual wheelchair, do you typically provide wheelchair-skills training to one or more of the client's informal caregivers?", 40 (46%) answered "Yes, usually", 40 (46%) "Sometimes" and 7 (8.1%) "No, usually not". A median of 1 training session was provided, each lasting 20 minutes. In answer to the question "How important do you feel that wheelchair-skills training is for caregivers?", 55 (64%) answered "Very important" and 29 (33.7%) "Somewhat important". Only 31 (36.1%) felt adequately prepared for caregiver training.             

Conclusions: Only a minority of NS OTs usually provide wheelchair-skills training for clients or their caregivers and the training provided is minimal, despite a majority who consider such training to be important. Only about one-third of OTs feel prepared for the training role. Further research as well as knowledge-translation initiatives are needed.