Wheelchair skills performance between discharge and one year after inpatient rehabilitation in hand-rim wheelchair users with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To study possible changes in wheelchair skills in participants with spinal cord injury between discharge and 1 year after rehabilitation, and to determine whether changes in wheelchair skills performance are related to lesion and personal characteristics, self-efficacy, and wheelchair satisfaction.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Eight rehabilitation centres with spinal cord injury units in the Netherlands.

Methods: A total of 111 participants performed the Wheelchair Circuit twice: at discharge (t1) and 1 year after discharge (t2). Personal/lesion characteristics, self-efficacy, and wheelchair satisfaction were measured. Normalized ability score and performance time score were analysed with a linear multilevel regression analysis for possible associations with wheelchair skills.

Results: No statistically significant changes were found in the ability and performance time scores of the Wheelchair Circuit over the first year after discharge. Younger persons, those with paraplegia, and those with a better self-efficacy score showed higher ability scores and faster performance time scores on both test occasions.

Conclusion: Wheelchair skills performance, measured with the Wheelchair Circuit, did not change during the first year after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. Wheelchair skills performance was associated with age, lesion level and self-efficacy perceptions.