Final Year Students' Knowledge on Basic Manual Wheelchair Provision: The State of Occupational Therapy Programs in Colombia.
María L Toro-Hernández, Liliana Alvarez, María C Vargas-Chaparro and 1 others
PMID 32410924WHAT IT FOUND
No final year occupational therapy students at 7 Colombian universities reached the 70% passing threshold on a basic wheelchair provision test.
Fitting and user training were weakest. Graduates may need stronger wheelchair education before practice.
Key findings
0183 final year occupational therapy students from 7 universities in Colombia took the Spanish wheelchair service provision knowledge test.
02The mean total score was 23.65% below the 70% passing threshold, and no student reached the threshold.
03The highest domain score was assessment at 57.6%, and the lowest was fitting at 23,7%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Not all active programs participated, and public protests prevented some interested programs, so the results may not represent all Colombian occupational therapy programs. The study measured students' test knowledge, not their actual wheelchair provision skills or patient outcomes. The test's questions and domains were still being checked for performance, so its measurement quality was not fully reported. Programs were grouped by university labels, and course names related to assistive technology were identified, but the content taught was not examined. Only final year students were included, so findings do not describe practicing occupational therapists.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that practicing Colombian occupational therapists lack wheelchair competence. The study measured final year students' knowledge on a written and video test, not patient outcomes or services delivered.