Article

The purpose of this project was to identify wheelchair skills currently
being taught to new manual wheelchair users, identify areas of importance for
manual wheelchair skills' training during initial rehabilitation, identify
similarities and differences between the perspectives of health care
professionals and manual wheelchair users and use the ICF to organize themes
related to rehabilitation and learning how to use a manual wheelchair. METHOD:
Focus groups were conducted with health care professionals and experienced manual
wheelchair users. ICF codes were used to identify focus group themes. RESULTS:
The Activities and Participation codes were more frequently used than Structure,
Function and Environment codes. Wheelchair skills identified as important for new
manual wheelchair users included propulsion techniques, transfers in an out of
the wheelchair, providing maintenance to the wheelchair and navigating barriers
such as curbs, ramps and rough terrain. Health care professionals and manual
wheelchair users identified the need to incorporate the environment (home and
community) into the wheelchair training program. CONCLUSIONS: Identifying
essential components for training the proper propulsion mechanics and wheelchair
skills in new manual wheelchair users is an important step in preventing future
health and participation restrictions. Implications for Rehabilitation Wheelchair
skills are being addressed frequently during rehabilitation at the
activity-dependent level. Propulsion techniques, transfers in an out of the
wheelchair, providing maintenance to the wheelchair and navigating barriers such
as curbs, ramps and rough terrain are important skills to address during
wheelchair training. Environment factors (in the home and community) are
important to incorporate into wheelchair training to maximize safe and
multiple-environmental-setting uses of manual wheelchairs. The ICF has
application to understanding manual wheelchair rehabilitation for wheelchair
users and therapists for improving the understanding of manual wheelchair use.

Langue : ANGLAIS