Ability of people with stroke to learn powered wheelchair skills: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
Our primary objective was to test the hypothesis that people with stroke can learn to use powered wheelchairs safely and effectively. Our secondary objective was to explore the influence of visuospatial neglect on the ability to learn powered wheelchair skills.


METHODS
Prospective, uncontrolled pilot study using within-participant comparisons.


METHODS
Rehabilitation center.


METHODS
Inpatients (N=10; 6 with visuospatial neglect), all with a primary diagnosis of stroke.


METHODS
Participants received 5 wheelchair skills training sessions of up to 30 minutes each using the Wheelchair Skills Training Program (version 3.2).


METHODS
Powered wheelchair skills were tested before and after training using the Wheelchair Skills Test, Power Mobility version 3.2 (WST-P).


RESULTS
The group's total mean WST-P scores improved from 25.5% of skills passed at baseline to 71.5% posttraining (P=.002). The participants with neglect improved their WST-P scores to the same extent as the participants without neglect, although their pretraining and posttraining scores were lower. The training and testing sessions were well tolerated by the participants, and there were no serious adverse events.


CONCLUSIONS
Many people with stroke, with or without visuospatial neglect, can learn to use powered wheelchairs safely and effectively with appropriate training.
Mountain
Anita D
AD
Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre Site, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4K4, Canada. abillard@dal.ca
Kirby
R Lee
RL
Eskes
Gail A
GA
Smith
Cher
C
Duncan
Hilary
H
MacLeod
Donald A
DA
Thompson
Kara
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D020521:Stroke / Q000523:psychology; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D014910:Wheelchairs