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. 2017 Sep 8:6:360.
doi: 10.4102/ajod.v6i0.360. eCollection 2017.

Development and evaluation of a wheelchair service provision training of trainers programme

Sara Munera  1 , Mary Goldberg  2   3 , Krithika Kandavel  2   3 , Jonathan Pearlman  3   4
Affiliations

Development and evaluation of a wheelchair service provision training of trainers programme

Sara Munera et al. Afr J Disabil. .

Abstract

Background: In many countries, availability of basic training and continued professional development programmes in wheelchair services is limited. Therefore, many health professionals lack access to formal training opportunities and new approaches to improve wheelchair service provision. To address this need, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed the WHO Wheelchair Service Training of Trainers Programme (WSTPt), aiming to increase the number of trainers who are well prepared to deliver the WHO Wheelchair Service Training Packages. Despite these efforts, there was no recognised method to prepare trainers to facilitate these training programmes in a standardised manner.

Objectives: To understand if the WSTPt is an effective mechanism to train aspiring wheelchair service provision trainers.

Method: An action research study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach to data collection and analysis to integrate feedback from questionnaires and focus groups from three WHO WSTPt pilots.

Results: Trainees were satisfied with the WHO WSTPt and the iterative process appears to have helped to improve each subsequent pilot and the final training package.

Conclusion: The WHO WSTPt is an effective mechanism to train wheelchair service provision trainers. This programme has potential to increase the number of trainees and may increase the number of qualified service providers.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationship that may have inappropriately influenced the writing of this article.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
ISWP training recognition pathway.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Trainees’ average satisfaction ratings across Pilot 1 (Nairobi), Pilot 2 (Cape Town) and Pilot 3 (Bangkok).
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See this image and copyright information in PMC

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