Clinical trial NCT01432418: Effectiveness of a Wheelchair Skills Training Program for Power Mobility Users: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Official title: Effectiveness of a Wheelchair Skills Training Program for Power Mobility Users: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Movement Disorders
Keywords: rehabilitation
wheelchairs
safety
disability evaluation
motor skills
Lead sponsor: Nova Scotia Health Authority
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
First posted: 2011-09-13
Enrollment: 116
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Brief summary: This is a 3-year multi-centre, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the hypothesis that wheelchair skills training (using a systematic training program called the Wheelchair Skills Training Program) improves wheelchair skills and safety of 144 powered wheelchair users. A second objective is to assess the effects of age, sex, training centre, and participant experience on outcomes, assessing the retention of benefits and assessing the impact of training on other important outcomes.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* new or experienced powered wheelchair users
* use or are expected to use powered wheelchairs for at least 4 hrs/week
* have access to a powered wheelchair with a suitable range of controller settings (i.e. able to climb a 5cm level change) for testing and training
* equal or greater than 18 years of age
* able to follow directions in either French or English (whichever is in use at the participating site)
* have the potential to operate their powered wheelchairs independently
* have room for improvement (in the opinion of the potential participant's clinician)
* requires no more than minimal assistance for communication and auditory comprehension (in the opinion of the potential participant's clinician)
* able to follow 2-step commands
* demonstrate the ability to attend training sessions during the intake session
* competent to provide their own informed consent
* able to be comfortably seated in the powered wheelchairs that will be used for the study (if not their own).

Exclusion Criteria:

* use or are expected to use a scooter
* have a rapidly progressive disorder (e.g. amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or terminal cancer)
* have significant visual impairments (legally blind)
* have unstable medical conditions (e.g. angina, seizures)
* have emotional problems (e.g. severe anxiety, depression) that might make participation unsafe or unpleasant

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change from baseline in Wheelchair Skills, WST 4.1 questionnaire version
timeFrame: baseline, 1 month , 3 months
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Vancouver
country: Canada
facility: GFS Rehabilitation Centre
state: British Columbia
city: Halifax
country: Canada
facility: Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre
state: Nova Scotia
city: London
country: Canada
facility: University of Western Ontario
state: Ontario
city: Toronto
country: Canada
facility: Toronto Rehab
state: Ontario
city: Montreal
country: Canada
facility: Centre de Réadaptation Lucie-Bruneau
state: Quebec
city: Quebec City
country: Canada
facility: Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale
state: Quebec
Study officials:
affiliation: Nova Scotia Health Authority
name: Lee Kirby, MD, FRCP
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: