Powered wheelchair skills training for persons with stroke: a randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Neuroscience
• Assistive Technology

Background:

• Stroke survivors often experience mobility impairments, necessitating effective rehabilitation strategies.
• Powered wheelchair use is common among individuals with stroke requiring mobility assistance.
• Spatial neglect is a common post-stroke deficit that can impact functional performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of formal powered wheelchair skills training for stroke survivors.
• To compare skill improvements between an intervention group and a control group.
• To investigate the influence of spatial neglect on wheelchair skills training outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Randomized controlled trial with 17 stroke participants.
• Intervention group received up to five 30-minute powered wheelchair skills training sessions.
• Wheelchair skills assessed using the Powered Wheelchair Skills Test at baseline and post-training.

Main Results:

• The intervention group showed a significant improvement in powered wheelchair skills (P = 0.0001).
• Trained participants improved skills by 30%, while the control group showed 0% improvement.
• Spatial neglect did not significantly influence the degree of skill improvement (P = 0.923).

Conclusions:

• Formal powered wheelchair skills training is highly effective in enhancing mobility for stroke survivors.
• The benefits of this training are independent of the presence of spatial neglect.
• Findings support the integration of structured wheelchair skills training into stroke rehabilitation and provision processes.