An exploratory analysis of global trends in wheelchair service provision knowledge across different demographic variables: 2017–2020

Goldberg, Mary; Alharbi, Mohammed; Kandavel, Krithika; Burrola-Mendez, Yohali; Augustine, Nancy; Toro-Hernández, María Luisa; Pearlman, Jonathan

doi:10.1080/10400435.2021.1992541

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Individual programs clearly address this content area differently in terms of time explicitly dedicated to wheelchair service provision. Despite evidence suggesting that occupational therapists are more likely to provide [ 39 ], and be knowledgeable in, wheelchair service provision than other professions [ 40 ], there is clearly room for improvement and greater uniformity in their professional education as suggested by D’Innocenzo [ 41 ]. While national accreditation processes require programs to ensure competency across the professional roles defined in the Profile of Practice [ 42 ], they do not explicate content-specific requirements [ 43 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, educators (many who currently practice in this area) may pragmatically consider this an area of lower priority. A recent analysis of knowledge test performance among wheelchair service providers globally [ 40 ] found Follow-up to be among the lowest scoring domains, indicating this gap is not unique to occupational therapy and may be an area of priority for curriculum reform. It should be noted that the Referral & Appointment step was allocated the least amount of time but was covered in nearly 80% of programs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wheelchair service provision education in Canadian occupational therapy programs

2022

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Occupational therapists in Canada play a central role in wheelchair service provision. Inadequate entry-to-practice professional education has been identified as a major concern in the delivery of wheelchair related services. The goal of this study was to describe the current education provided in Canadian occupational therapy programs and to map this content against the recommended WHO 8-step wheelchair service provision process. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional online survey design. Educators were recruited from accredited occupational therapy programs in Canada. Participants completed a short sociodemographic questionnaire and a survey with 97 closed- and open-ended questions regarding the wheelchair service provision education provided in their curriculum. Survey data was then mapped according to the WHO 8-step wheelchair service provision process. Twenty-nine educators from all Canadian occupational therapy programs (n = 14) were enrolled. Most participants (55.2%) were full-time faculty members that had been teaching in occupational therapy programs for an average time of 10.9 years. All programs covered at least 4 of the WHO recommended steps, but only 5 programs covered all steps. Assessment and Prescription steps were covered in every program while the Referral & Appointment, Funding & Ordering, Fitting and User Training steps were covered in most programs. The pedagogic approach, the amount of time dedicated to wheelchair-related content, and the type of evaluation used varied greatly between programs. This study is the first to provide a detailed description of wheelchair service provision education across all Canadian occupational therapy programs according to the WHO 8 steps and provides a foundation for collaborative efforts to promote best practice in entry-to-practice professional education.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wheelchair service provision education in Canadian occupational therapy programs

2022

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“…Device users worldwide are at high risk for developing secondary health conditions and dying prematurely due to inappropriate WSMD provision by untrained providers [ 22 , 28 , 34 ]. Different studies have suggested recommendations to overcome such challenges and to ensure the competency of WSMD providers; such recommendations include comprehensive education programs, valid and reliable competency tests, standardized certification through global organizations, and standardized outcome measures [ 12 , 24 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wheeled and Seated Mobility Devices Provision: Quantitative Findings and SWOT Thematic Analysis of a Global Occupational Therapist Survey

Sarsak

Zweck²,

Ledgerd³

2023

Healthcare

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Purpose: To better understand the global role of occupational therapists and explore facilitators and barriers impacting user access to high quality, affordable wheeled and seated mobility device (WSMD) provision worldwide. Methods: Mixed-method approach utilizing quantitative findings and qualitative strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of a global online survey. Results: A total of 696 occupational therapists from 61 countries completed the survey. Almost 49% had 10 or more years of experience with the provision of WSMDs. WSMD provision had positive, significant associations with attainment of certification (0.000), higher service funding (0.000), higher country income (0.001), standardized training (0.003), continuous professional development (0.004), higher experience (0.004), higher user satisfaction (0.032), custom-made device provision (0.038), higher staff capacity (0.040), and more time working with users (0.050); negative, significant associations were identified with high cost of WSMDs (0.006) and pre-made device provision (0.019). SWOT analysis identified high country income, funding, experience, training, certification from global partners, variety of roles and practice settings, and interdisciplinary teamwork as strengths and opportunities for professional growth, while low country income, lack of time/staff capacity/standardization/support services, and poor access to proper devices were indicated as weaknesses and threats. Conclusion: Occupational therapists are skilled healthcare professionals and provide a variety of WSMD services. Efforts to build collaborative partnerships, enhance access to occupational therapists and funding options, improve service and standards for WMSD service delivery, and promote professional development will help to overcome challenges and facilitate WSMD provision globally. Promoting practices based on best available evidence for WSMD provision worldwide should be prioritized.

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“…The ISWP Basic Test Version 1 was used to measure changes in manual wheelchair-service-provision knowledge after a training intervention [ 6 , 9 , 10 ] or manual wheelchair-service-provision knowledge among rehabilitation students [ 7 , 8 ]. Furthermore, a recent exploratory analysis revealed associations between the ISWP Basic Test Version 1 and test takers’ education, motivation, and country income setting [ 11 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric properties of the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals’ basic manual wheelchair-service-provision knowledge Test Version 1 and development of Version 2

et al. 2023

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Introduction Valid and reliable scores from measurement tools to test competency in basic manual wheelchair-service-provision are needed to promote good practice and support capacity building. The International Society of Wheelchair Professionals’ (ISWP) Basic Test Version 1 in English, launched in 2015, is the most frequently used outcome measure tool to test basic manual wheelchair-service-provision knowledge and is part of an international certification process. Despite the wide acceptance and use of the test, its psychometric properties have not yet been established. The objectives of this study were 1) to evaluate the test’s psychometric properties, 2) to develop the test’s Version 2, and 3) to evaluate the content validity of the new version. Methods For Objective 1, methods from the Classical Test Theory were used to obtain items’ difficulty, item discrimination index and domains’ reliability. For Objective 2, a team of experts in wheelchair service delivery and education conducted a systematic qualitative review of the questions’ text and answers and updated them using evidence-based guidelines. For Objective 3, an external team reviewed the clarity, relevance and domain allocation of the developed items using a 4-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics were used to describe and characterize the results for each objective. Item-content (I-CVI) and Scale-content (S-CVI) validity indexes were calculated to compute content validity. Results For Objective 1, all domains in the test were below the threshold for acceptable internal consistency reliability; 80% of the total test pool (116 items from the total pool of 145) did not meet the thresholds for item difficulty and index of discrimination suggested in the literature. Of the items in the Test, 78% could be responded to intuitively and 66% did not distinguish between test-takers who were knowledgeable in the content area and those who were not. For Objective 2, experts found concerns such as items being grouped in the wrong domain, being repeated, not using person-first language, and using terms inconsistently. Thirty-four (23.4%) items were dropped and 111 (76.5%) were updated. In addition, 61 new items were developed. Members re-categorized the items and proposed a new classification of subdomains. For Objective 3, good agreement between subject-matter experts was found; the S-CVI calculated using the I-CVIs related to item clarity was 84% while using the I-CVIs related to item relevance was 98%. Only 7 items (4.1%) were deemed to be in the wrong domain and 4 items (2.3%) were considered irrelevant and dropped. Conclusion The psychometric evidence in support of ISWP Basic Test Version 1 in English is suboptimal. A new set of items developed by experts in the field has shown excellent content validity. Ongoing assessments will be needed as ISWP Basic Test Version 2 is implemented and monitored.

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An exploratory analysis of global trends in wheelchair service provision knowledge across different demographic variables: 2017–2020

Cited by 5 publications

References 45 publications

Wheelchair service provision education in Canadian occupational therapy programs

Wheelchair service provision education in Canadian occupational therapy programs

Wheeled and Seated Mobility Devices Provision: Quantitative Findings and SWOT Thematic Analysis of a Global Occupational Therapist Survey

Psychometric properties of the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals’ basic manual wheelchair-service-provision knowledge Test Version 1 and development of Version 2

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