Community Health & Epidemiology Seminar Series – Wheelchair Skills Assessment and Training – What in the World is Going On!? – R. Lee Kirby, MD, FRCPC

R. Lee Kirby, MD, FRCPC Professor, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Adjunct Professor Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University Abstract: In 2008, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its Guidelines on the Provision of Wheelchairs in Less-Resourced Settings. Training packages have subsequently been released to assist practitioners in meeting these Guidelines. A number of organizations, universities and agencies are now involved in the implementation of these training packages and to oversee the certification of providers. A new organization, the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP), was formed in 2015 to help lead and coordinate these efforts. The WHO Guidelines include an 8-step process for wheelchair service delivery. Two of these steps – assessment and training – are relevant to the Wheelchair Skills Program (www.wheelchairskillsprogram.ca) that includes assessment and training protocols (the Wheelchair Skills Test and Wheelchair Skills Training Program). This session will provide an overview of the developments in global wheelchair service delivery since the re! lease of the paradigm-changing WHO Guidelines will show the relevance of the low-tech and high-impact Wheelchair Skills Program to these developments and will suggest directions for the future. Biography: Dr Kirby received his MD degree from Dalhousie University. His specialty training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation was carried out at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, USA, at Dalhousie University and at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. He is a Professor in the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Department of Medicine at Dalhousie University with a cross-appointment in Community Health and Epidemiology. He is based at the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre Site of the Nova Scotia Health Authority. His primary research interest is the safety and performance of wheelchairs. He has held research grants from a number of national and international funding bodies. He has published numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals and made many presentations to national and international meetings. He heads the team that developed the Wheelchair Skills Program (www.wheelchairskillsprogram.ca), a low-tech, high-impact training! program that is relevant for both more- and less-resourced settings.

More information at: https://www.dal.ca/news/events/2016/12/06/community_health___epidemiology_seminar_series___wheelchair_skills_assessment_and_training___what_in_the_world_is_going_on_____r__lee_kirby__md__frcpc.html