Effectiveness of a wheelchair skills training programme for community-living users of manual wheelchairs in Turkey: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To test the hypothesis that, in comparison with those in a control group, community-dwelling wheelchair users in Turkey who have completed the Wheelchair Skills Training Program have better total percentage performance and safety scores on the Wheelchair Skills Test. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Subjects: The study group comprised individuals (n = 24) who have to use a wheelchair for mobility in daily life. The subjects were randomly allocated to training (n = 14) and control groups (n = 10). Interventions: The training group attended a skill training session three times a week for four weeks. The control group did not participate in the training. Main outcome measures: At the beginning of the study, subjects underwent a Wheelchair Skills Test (version 4.1), which evaluated their performance and safety for a range of skills. The test was repeated at the end of the study. Results: The mean +/- SD total percentage Wheelchair Skills Test performance scores increased significantly in both the training group (P = 0.002) and control group (P = 0.01), although the training group increased to a greater extent (P = 0.034). The training group's mean +/- SD total percentage Wheelchair Skills Test safety scores increased significantly (P = 0.001), but there was no significant change in the control group. A statistically significant improvement was found between the total percentage Wheelchair Skills Test safety scores in the training group compared with the control group (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Community-living wheelchair users who received wheelchair skills training increased their total performance and safety scores to a greater extent than a control group.