Development and efficacy of an online wheelchair maintenance training program for wheelchair personnel.
OBJECTIVES
To develop an online version of the wheelchair maintenance training program (WMTP) and compare learning outcomes from the in-person and online programs using the wheelchair maintenance training questionnaire (WMT-Q), administered before and after the intervention.


DESIGN
Iterative development of an online version of the WMTP and implementation.


SETTING
Online.


PARTICIPANTS
26 graduate and undergraduate students.


INTERVENTION
Web-based training. These results are compared with those from another study of the in-person WMTP with 10 participants.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Feedback survey and WMT-Q.


RESULTS
The training program was well-received and valued by all 26 participants. A significant increase in all scores after the online training program was found, based on pre-/post-intervention scores. In manual wheelchair open-ended questions, knowledge increased from 16% to 21%, p < .05; in power wheelchair open-ended questions, from 9% to 31%, p < .05; in multiple-choice questions related to knowledge, from 27% to 59%, p < .05; confidence increased from 8% to 80%, p < .05; and capacity from 12% to 88%, p < .05. There was no statistical difference in WMT-Q scores between individuals who participated in the in-person and online programs.


CONCLUSION
This study indicates that there was a similar-increased knowledge for participants, indicating that web-based training may be a viable approach for delivering maintenance training.
['Múnera|Sara|S|', 'Pearlman|Jon|J|0000-0003-0830-9136', 'Toro|Maria|M|', 'Worobey|Lynn|L|0000-0001-8795-6061', 'Boninger|Michael|M|0000-0001-6966-919X', 'Cooper|Rory A|RA|']
D006801:Humans D007858:Learning D013334:Students D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D014910:Wheelchairs
education knowledge translation mobility wheeled mobility aids