Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

The proposed research involves a symposium on wheelchair-use self-efficacy and an oral presentation on the feasibility of a self-efficacy enhanced peer-led manual wheelchair training program for older adults. Wheelchair use self-efficacy is an important construct influencing wheelchair use and social participation in older wheelchair users. During the symposium we will highlight the prevalence of low-efficacy in older adults, present a new outcome tool, and review novel strategies for improving wheelchair use self-efficacy. Peer-led training represents one strategy, as it targets self-efficacy through four sources (skills mastery, observational learning, verbal persuasion, and understanding the physiological responses of low self-efficacy). Peer-led training can be effectively administered in the community with minimal reliance on clinicians, therefore may augment existing training opportunities with minimal cost to the healthcare system. The oral presentation will present the feasibility of the peer-led Wheelchair Self-Efficacy Enhanced for Use (WheelSeeU) program. In a randomized controlled trial, forty manual wheelchair users completed wither the WheelSeeU program or a placebo program. The following feasibility indicators related to process, resources, management, and safety will be presented: the consent rate was 49%; participant retention was 90% post-intervention and 87.5% at 3 months follow-up; all participants reported perceived benefits from WheelSeeU; participants and trainers adhered to the study protocol (>90%); fidelity of the WheelSeeU intervention was attained (>90%); there were no adverse events. In conclusion, the peer-led WheelSeeU program is an innovative and feasible approach for providing manual wheelchair training to older adults that is accessible beyond initial rehabilitation without increased clinician burden. With minor modifications, it is feasible that WheelSeeU can be administered to older adults living in the community.