A condensed wheelchair skills training 'bootcamp' improves students' self-efficacy for assessing, training, spotting, and documenting manual and power wheelchair skills

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the influence of a bootcamp training approach on students' self-efficacy for assessing, training, spotting, documenting, and performing manual and power wheelchair skills.Methods: In a pre-post design, students in their final year of an entry-to-practice master of occupational therapy program completed a two-day manual (6.5 h) and power (6.5 h) wheelchair skills bootcamp. Outcomes for self-efficacy (in assessing, training, spotting and documenting manual and power wheelchair skills; primary) and capacity (manual and power wheelchair skills; secondary) were collected at baseline and immediately after the bootcamp.Results: Participants (n = 44) were 27.3 ± 4.3 years of age (41 female). Most students (81.8%) reported little previous experience using manual and power wheelchairs at baseline. Students' self-efficacy for assessing, training, spotting, and documenting manual and power wheelchair skills improved by between 28.4% and 35.3%, representing a change from 'somewhat confident' to 'fairly confident'. Students' manual and power wheelchair skills capacity increased by 47.2% and 37.1% respectively.Conclusions: Wheelchair skills training bootcamps may help prepare occupational therapy students to assess, train, spot, and document manual and power wheelchair skills of future clients, while improving students' wheelchair skills capacity; thus may provide an option for integrating wheelchair skills training into the curriculum of time-intensive programs.Implications for rehabiliationA two-day condensed wheelchair skills training workshop improves occupational therapystudents' self-efficacy for assessing, training, spotting and documenting power andmanual wheelchair skills.A two-day condensed wheelchair skills training workshop improves occupationaltherapy students' power and manual wheelchair skills.Self-efficacy is an indicator of future behaviours. Therefore, improving students' selfefficacyfor assessing training and documenting wheelchair skills may influence their future practice.

Keywords: Wheelchair; education; self efficacy; self-help devices.