Power Mobility Training for Persons With Stroke

Power Mobility Training for Persons With Stroke: A Randomized Control Trial

To test the hypothesis that persons with stroke can safely and effectively learn to use power mobility devices. The primary objective of this project is to test the hypothesis that, with formal wheelchair skills training, people who have had a stroke and have been prescribed a power wheelchair will have a larger improvement in performance and safety scores on the wheelchair skills test than people who have not received wheelchair skills training.

Inclusion Criteria:

• be an inpatient at the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre with a primary diagnosis of stroke within the previous 6 months;
• be competent to provide informed consent;
• have permission of the attending physician to participate;
• require no more than minimal assistance for verbal/non-verbal communication and auditory comprehension as evaluated by a therapist or by chart review of the baseline CIHI evaluation;27
• be able to attend during a 20-minute therapy session as evaluated by the occupational or physical therapist;
• use a manual wheelchair for at least 1 hour per day;
• be able to be safely seated in the power wheelchair that we will be using for the study;
• have no significant visual impairment (such that a subject would be unable to see barriers) as evaluated by his/her therapist based on his/her performance during functional tasks;
• Not currently be using a power wheelchair
• have no physical or mental health condition (as determined by the health-care team) that would make participation dangerous.

Exclusion Criteria:

• none