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Wheelchair-skill performance: controlled comparison between people with hemiplegia and able-bodied people simulating
R Lee Kirby1, Corey D Adams, Angela H MacPhee
1Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS Canada. kirby@dal.ca
Objective:
To test the hypothesis that able-bodied people simulating hemiplegia (using the hemiplegic-propulsion pattern [1 arm and 1 leg]) have as much difficulty performing wheelchair skills as people with hemiplegia.
Design:
Single-blind, controlled comparison of 2 groups.
Setting:
Kinesiologic laboratory in a rehabilitation center.
Participants:
Twenty wheelchair users with hemiplegia (HP group) (median age, 68y; 80% men) and 20 able-bodied participants (AB group) (median age, 67y; 75% men).
Interventions:
The participants in the AB group simulated hemiplegia and received a brief period of wheelchair skills training. Participants in both groups were asked to attempt the 50 skills of the Wheelchair Skills Test, version 2.4 (WST 2.4).
Main Outcome Measures:
Total and subtotal percentage scores on the WST 2.4 and success rates for the 50 individual skills.
Results:
The mean percentage WST scores for the AB group were significantly greater than those for the HP group for the total WST scores ( P <.001), the indoor skill level ( P <.001), and the community skill level ( P <.001), but the advanced skill level scores were 0% for both groups. On the individual skills, the AB group had success rates at least 25% higher than the HP group for 13 (26%) of the skills. Both groups were generally successful (>/=75% success rate) on 21 skills (42%). Both groups experienced difficulties (
Conclusions:
Both people with hemiplegia and able-bodied people who are simulating hemiplegia experience similar difficulties when performing some wheelchair skills. This suggests that there are difficulties inherent in these tasks, a finding that holds promise for solutions based on new techniques and technologies.
