One World Project's Wheelchair Skills Training Camp in Morocco – Effects of a Community Peer-Based Programme

Abstract

Background. Access to health services was found to be a major problem for over half of persons with disabilities in Morocco. This has created the need to increase opportunities for community-based rehabilitation activities in this country.The aim of this study was to assess wheelchairs skills of persons with physical disabilities attending the first Wheelchair Skills and Empowerment Camp in Morocco, and their satisfaction with the manual wheelchairs available during the camp activities. Methods. 19 persons (13 male and 6 female) with physical disabilities took part in the project. Mean years since injury or illness was 24 years. The following measures have been used: the Queensland Evaluation of Wheelchair Skills test, and the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology. Results. Study participants improved their overall wheelchair mobility skills (p=0.002; d=0.20), especially the ability to ascend and descend a ramp (p=0.012; d=0.67). The participants were significantly larger satisfied with the new provided wheelchairs in comparison to their own wheelchairs with regard to five of the satisfaction items i.e. ease in adjusting (p=0.011; d=0.96), safety and security (p=0.014; d=0.97), durability (p=0.037; d=0.81), ease to use (p=0.045; d=0.87), and comfort (p=0.006; d=1.03). Conclusions. Findings of this study suggest that there is a need for structured wheelchair skills training and better-quality wheelchairs for persons with physical disabilities in Morocco. The study also confirmed that community peer-based programmes in low-resource countries can play an important role in rehabilitation in persons with physical disabilities, even many years since their injury or illness.