Outcomes retention and impact of demographic characteristics and engagement for a community-based peer-led eHealth...

Manual wheelchairs (MWCs) are essential for individuals with mobility impairments, yet many users receive limited training, restricting mobility and participation. Innovative alternatives to therapist-led approaches, including eHealth and peer-led interventions, are emerging to address this gap.

This follow-up study examined long-term retention of participation and related outcomes 6 months after an eHealth wheelchair skills training program. Secondary aims explored associations between participant demographics, program engagement and post-intervention outcomes.

A repeated-measures cohort design was used with intervention participants from a multi-site randomised trial conducted across three Canadian urban centres. Nineteen adults using MWCs completed the 4-week TEAM Wheels program, comprising a tablet-based app with 200+ instructional videos and three peer-led teleconferences. Outcomes included participation, wheelchair skills capacity and performance, self-efficacy and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

At 6 months, participants (n = 18) maintained or improved statistically significant gains in participation, skills and self-efficacy but not HRQoL. Improvements were comparable across demographic groups, whereas meeting recommended engagement guidelines was linked to larger gains in skills and confidence.

TEAM Wheels benefits were largely retained at 6 months. eHealth and peer-led approaches offer promising, sustainable alternatives to traditional clinician-led MWC skills training.

Clinical Trial Registration No. NCT04090177.