Múnera Orozco, Sara
(2017)
DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN ONLINE WHEELCHAIR MAINTENANCE TRAINING PROGRAM.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Seventy-five million people worldwide need a wheelchair to perform activities of daily living and fully enjoy life. In the last couple of years, research has shown an increase in wheelchair breakdowns and the related adverse consequences among wheelchair users such as being injured or stranded; research also suggests that performing maintenance on wheelchairs can reduce the number of wheelchair breakdowns and associated injuries. Based on this evidence, an in-person Wheelchair Maintenance Training Program (WMTP) was developed with promising outcomes: participants increased their knowledge related to wheelchair maintenance and their capacity to perform maintenance activities. However, to run this training, extensive resources and time are required. The development of an online version of the WMTP could decrease the resources needed, making the training available for people around the globe. The Online WMTP was developed through an iterative approach in five different phases: content translation, internal review, external review, usability testing, and a pilot. The result of this process is a training program with online modules to teach clinicians how to train users in performing maintenance on their manual and power wheelchairs. The Online WMTP was implemented at the University of Pittsburgh with fourteen individuals who participated in the training program. Pre- and post-training results indicated a statistically significant increase in wheelchair maintenance knowledge, capacity, and confidence. There were no differences in learning outcomes for participants in the in-person compared to online training program, suggesting that both training methods have a similar learning effects. Both training programs are an effective method for teaching wheelchair maintenance and have the potential of reducing wheelchair breakdowns since users can learn how to maintain their wheelchairs and how often to do it. Additionally, the Online version of the training program allows easier access for a broader population of trainees and can be modified and translated to different languages, making it accessible worldwide.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
| Title | Member | Email Address | Pitt Username | ORCID |
|---|
| Committee Chair | Pearlman, Jonathan | | | | | Committee Member | Boninger, Michael | | | | | Committee Member | Worobey, Lynn | | | | | Committee Member | Toro, Maria Luisa | | | | | Committee Member | Cooper, Rory | | | |
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| Date: |
5 June 2017 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
14 March 2017 |
| Approval Date: |
5 June 2017 |
| Submission Date: |
18 January 2017 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
91 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences > Health and Rehabilitation Sciences |
| Degree: |
MS - Master of Science |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Wheelchair, training, eLearning |
| Date Deposited: |
05 Jun 2017 17:05 |
| Last Modified: |
22 Apr 2024 18:53 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/31065 |
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