Clinical trial NCT01644292: Enhancing Participation In the Community by Improving Wheelchair Skills: Phase 2
Official title: Enhancing Participation In the Community by Improving Wheelchair Skills (EPIC WheelS): Phase 2
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE1
Conditions: Older Adult Manual Wheelchair Users
Keywords: Mobility Impairment
Manual Wheelchair
Older Adults
Lead sponsor: University of Manitoba
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2012-07-19
Enrollment: 2
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 50
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The purpose of this project is to conduct a pilot study of the EPIC WheelS wheelchair skills home training program for older adults in preparation for a third phase feasibility study.

Detailed description: Many older adults rely on a manual wheelchair for community mobility but are not provided with skills for independent and effective use. Suboptimal or disuse of the wheelchair results in substantial social costs such as reduced engagement in meaningful activity, social isolation, and higher caregiver burden. This represents a poor use of financial resources, including the cost of wheelchair acquisition and demands for attendant care. Access to skills training is constrained by the cost and limited availability of skilled therapists, the demands of patient and clinician travel, and lack of programs designed specifically for the needs of older adults. Enhancing Participation In the Community by improving Wheelchair Skills (EPIC WheelS) is an individualized home-training program that optimizes learning for older adults while limiting the demands on expert clinician trainers. It is delivered using a portable computer tablet that allows interactive learning, customized updating, and communication with an expert trainer. A monitored, home program that is effective and efficient for older adults has potential application for other target groups as well, particularly those with limited access to rehabilitation services in rural and remote locations.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* at least 50 years old
* live in the community within metropolitan Winnipeg
* self-propel a MWC (Manual Wheelchair) at least 1 hour per day
* use their MWC for mobility outside of the home
* have used a MWC for less than 2 years

Exclusion Criteria:

* cannot communicate and complete study questionnaires in English
* anticipate a health condition that contraindicates wheelchair training

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change From Baseline in Wheelchair Skills Test (WST) 4.1 Capacity Score
timeFrame: Baseline and follow-up (1 month)
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Winnipeg
country: Canada
facility: University of Manitoba
state: Manitoba
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Manitoba
name: Ed M Giesbrecht, PhD (Cand.)
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of British Columbia
name: William C Miller, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of British Columbia
name: Janice Eng, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Giesbrecht EM, Miller WC, Jin BT, Mitchell IM, Eng JJ. Rehab on Wheels: A Pilot Study of Tablet-Based Wheelchair Training for Older Adults. JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol. 2015 Apr 30;2(1):e3. doi: 10.2196/rehab.4274.