Caregiver-aided Powered Wheelchair Skills

The Extent to Which Caregivers Enhance the Wheelchair Skills of Powered Wheelchair Users: a Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02972307

Enrollment

152

Registered

2016-11-23

Start date

2016-07-31

Completion date

2017-06-30

Last updated

2018-01-12

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Caregivers

Brief summary

There has been only minimal research on wheelchair skills by the caregivers of manual or powered wheelchair. There are no published data on the extent to which caregivers can enhance the mobility of powered wheelchair users. The primary objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that caregivers enhance the wheelchair skills capacity, confidence and performance of the powered wheelchair users to whom they provide assistance. Our secondary objective is to add to the literature on the measurement properties of the wheelchair skills test (questionnaire and capability version) for powered wheelchair users and their caregivers.

Interventions

OTHERwheelchair skills

the extent to which caregivers enhance the wheelchair skills of powered wheelchair users

Study design

Observational model

CASE_ONLY

Time perspective

CROSS_SECTIONAL

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* ≥ 18 years of age * able to communicate in English and/or French (depending upon the site) * live within 50 km of the research centre * be willing to participate (as evidenced by completion of the assessment) * be able to set a scheduled time for the study visit when both the caregiver and wheelchair user will be present and provide informed consent Caregivers: * must be an unpaid caregiver (e.g. a family member or friend) * spend an average total of at least 2 hours per week with the powered wheelchair user that includes powered wheelchair mobility. Wheelchair user: * must have his/her own powered wheelchair * use the powered wheelchair for at least 6 hours per week * have a caregiver who spends an average total of at least 2 hours per week with the powered wheelchair user that includes powered wheelchair mobility.

Exclusion criteria

* have unstable medical conditions (e.g. angina, seizures) that might make the use of a powered wheelchair dangerous * emotional problems (e.g. severe anxiety, depression) that might make participation unsafe or unpleasant

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Wheelchair Skills Test (WST)	one day	Objective (WST) and Questionnaire (WST-Q) versions

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Questionnaire	one day	Qualitative open ended questions on wheelchair skills

Countries

Canada

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026