Ability Meets Mobility

Results of the Wheelchair Service Provision Basic Test

Alexandria Miles, M.Ed., CRCGraduate Student ResearcherPhD Student

Background• About 70 million people need a WC• Only 5 - 15% have access to one• WHO’s Goal: develop guidelines &

learning materials to improve service provider capacity

ISWP Goal & ObjectivesImprove quality of life of wheelchair users globally by:

• Increasing awareness & advocating

• Coordinating the global wheelchair sector

• Setting & advocating for better product & service standards

• Building capacity for high-quality wheelchair service provision

• Collect and share wheelchair service provision data

Started in February 2015 with 2.5 year USAID Grant

ISWP Structure

MEMBERSIndividual &

Organizational

Advisory Board

Working Groups

Leadership Team

Working GroupsAdvocacy

Awareness

Policy Adoption

Training

Competency Testing

Hybrid/Blended Course

Learning

Integration

Mentoring

Standards

Usability Test

Additional test to ISO

Wheelchair Catalog

Membership and

Coordination

Service Providers and

NGOs

Training Organizations

Suppliers

Wheelchair Users

Evidence Based

Practice

Minimum Dataset

Tracking Training

Targeted Studies

Wheelchair Service Provision Basic Test

Prior to January 2015, there was no international effort to measure the basic competency of

professionals on manual wheelchair service provision

USAID and partners developed the Wheelchair Service Provision Basic Test, an assessment that

evaluates the basic competency of service providers on MWC service provision using WHO

training packages, guidelines, and other resources.

Wheelchair Service Provision Basic Test

Assessment an assessment of the wheelchair user’s needsPrescription wheelchair specification, features, and modificationsFitting wheelchair adjustmentsProduction wheelchair assembly and safetyUser training best method for transfers, mobility, etc.Process steps from referral and assessment to funding and orderingMaintenance and Repair follow up procedures

WSP

BT July 18, 2014 – August 22, 2014

90 Professionals

Determined a definite cut off score of 70%

Deleted under and over performing questions

6 continents

Wheelchair Service Provision Basic Test Pilot and Validation

Statistical AnalysisExperience Level

Average Score: Overall

SD N

1 year or less 67 9.36 23

2-3 years 69 11.62 22

4-7 years 74 10.89 18

8 or more years 70 14.61 26

Mean M = 70

ANOVA p = 0.448

WSPBT TODAY

Over 500 test takersAverage Score – 75%

Pass Rate – 73%Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Baghdad, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Colombia, Dubai,

England, Ethiopia, Finland, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine,

Philippines, Romania, Scotland, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Zimbabwe

Top 5 Countries

% of Test Takers

India 39

Kenya 12

USA 11

Philippines 5

Malaysia 3

Other 30

Demographics

Gender% of Test

Takers

Male 59

Female 41

Experience Level % of Test Takers

1 year or less 37

2 – 3 years 20

4 – 7 years 21

8 or more years 22

Language Spoken at Home

% of Test Takers

English 20

English and Other Language

5

Other Language 75

Statistical Analysis

Experience LevelAverage Score:

OverallSD N

1 year or less 73 13.03 218

2-3 years 76 14.53 116

4-7 years 75 14.54 126

8 or more years 76 14.46 128

Mean M = 75

ANOVA p = 0.138

Current WorkLanguages

Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Simplified Mandarin, Vietnamese,

and Mongolian are in the Beta testing phase

CertificationWheelchair Service Professional (WSP)

Credential

Other Work• Hybrid, on-line and in-person, training package currently

launched and is in the pilot phase• Establishing a Mentorship Program for wheelchair service

providers• The Wheelchair Service Provision Intermediate Test,

accompanied with a skills test, is being piloted with an emphasis on prescribing postural support and pediatric clients

• Integrating wheelchair service training in PT, OT, and P&O programs

• Continued statistical analysis of WSPBT• To establish a testing time limit• For continued reliability and validity testing• To evaluate scores and pass percentages based on language and

experience level• For further demographic research

ISWP

Join ISWP

http://www.wheelchairnet.org/