Effect of Travel Direction, Body Position and Technique on the Ease of a Caregiver Getting an Occupied Wheelchair Over a Soft Surface: a Randomized Crossover Trial
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Nova Scotia Health Authority
- Enrollment
- 32
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Time taken to perform task
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Wheelchair skills training is an important step in the wheelchair provision process. Caregivers play an important role in the lives of wheelchair users but very little is known about wheelchair skills training for caregivers. The goal of the study is to understand the effect of wheelchair travel direction, wheelchair occupant body position and technique used by caregivers on the ease of getting an occupied wheelchair over a soft surface.
Detailed Description
Able bodied participants will be used to simulate caregivers and wheelchair occupants. Participants simulating caregivers will be asked to move the occupied wheelchair over a 5 m soft surface. Participants will be randomly assigned a direction to move the wheelchair (forward or backwards), wheelchair occupant body position (upright or leaning forward) and technique in moving the wheelchair (upright with all 4 wheels on ground or in a wheelie position with the wheelchair tipped backwards and balanced on the rear wheels). The ease of getting the occupied wheelchair over the soft surface will be evaluated by the amount of time taken to complete the task, how well the participant completed the task and the ease of performing the task as evaluated by the participant.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Crossover
- Primary Purpose
- Other
- Masking
- Single (Participant)
Masking Description
The participants will be blinded to the expected differences among the test conditions and asked not to discuss their experiences with other potential participants.
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •able to communicate in English,
- •alert, cooperative, and competent to provide informed consent,
- •willing to participate (as evidenced by attending the single data-collection session), and
- •have no physical impairments that would prevent their being able to push and pull a wheelchair over a soft surface
Exclusion Criteria
- •have unstable medical conditions that might make the handling of a manual wheelchair dangerous, or emotional problems that might make participation unsafe or unpleasant.
Arms & Interventions
Upright wheelchair forward and occupant upright
Participant will push an upright wheelchair forward over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position. The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Wheelchair forward direction (Other)
Upright wheelchair forward and occupant upright
Participant will push an upright wheelchair forward over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position. The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Upright technique (Other)
Upright wheelchair forward and occupant upright
Participant will push an upright wheelchair forward over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position. The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Wheelchair occupant upright body position (Other)
Upright wheelchair backward and occupant upright
Participant will pull an upright wheelchair backwards over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position. The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Wheelchair backward direction (Other)
Upright wheelchair backward and occupant upright
Participant will pull an upright wheelchair backwards over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position. The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Upright technique (Other)
Upright wheelchair backward and occupant upright
Participant will pull an upright wheelchair backwards over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position. The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Wheelchair occupant upright body position (Other)
Wheelie wheelchair forward and occupant upright
Participant will push a wheelchair using the wheelie technique forward over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position.The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Wheelchair forward direction (Other)
Wheelie wheelchair forward and occupant upright
Participant will push a wheelchair using the wheelie technique forward over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position.The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Wheelie technique (Other)
Wheelie wheelchair forward and occupant upright
Participant will push a wheelchair using the wheelie technique forward over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position.The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Wheelchair occupant upright body position (Other)
Wheelie wheelchair backward and occupant upright
Participant will pull a wheelchair using the wheelie technique backwards over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position.The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Wheelchair backward direction (Other)
Wheelie wheelchair backward and occupant upright
Participant will pull a wheelchair using the wheelie technique backwards over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position.The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Wheelie technique (Other)
Wheelie wheelchair backward and occupant upright
Participant will pull a wheelchair using the wheelie technique backwards over a 5 m soft surface with the wheelchair occupant in the upright body position.The participant will perform the task once.
Intervention: Wheelchair occupant upright body position (Other)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Time taken to perform task
Time Frame: through study completion , an average of 1 hour
The amount of time in seconds taken to perform the task and move the occupied wheelchair across 5 meters of soft surface (gym mats).
Secondary Outcomes
- Ease of performing the task(through study completion , an average of 1 hour)
- Ability to perform task(through study completion , an average of 1 hour)
Investigators
Lee Kirby
Principal Investigator
Nova Scotia Health Authority