Prevalence of Low Mobility and Self-Management Self-Efficacy in Manual Wheelchair Users and the Association With Wheelchair Skills

• The prevalence of low wheelchair-mobility self-efficacy was 28.5%.
• The prevalence of low self-management self-efficacy was 11.4%.
• The association with wheelchair skills was .70 (mobility) and .39 (self-management).
• Of the sample, 16% had discordant mobility self-efficacy and wheelchair skills.
• Of the sample, 30% had discordant self-management self-efficacy and wheelchair skills.

ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence of low wheelchair-mobility and self-management self-efficacy and to evaluate the association with wheelchair skills.DesignCross-sectional.SettingCommunity.ParticipantsCommunity-dwelling manual wheelchair users (N=123) who were ≥50 years of age (mean, 59.7±7.5y) and from British Columbia and Quebec, Canada.InterventionsNone.Main Outcome MeasuresThe 13-item mobility and 8-item self-management subscales from the Wheelchair Use Confidence Scale–Short Form (standardized scores range, 0–100) measured self-efficacy, and the 32-item Wheelchair Skills Test, Questionnaire Version (scores range, 0–100) measured wheelchair skills. A score of 50 was used to differentiate individuals with high and low self-efficacy, and a score of 72 differentiated between high and low wheelchair skills.ResultsThe prevalence of low wheelchair-mobility and self-management self-efficacy was 28.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 20.6–36.4) and 11.4% (95% CI, 5.8–17.0), respectively, and their bivariate association with wheelchair skills was r=.70 and r=.39, respectively. Of the sample, 16% reported conflicting mobility self-efficacy and skill scores; 25% reported low self-efficacy and high skills. Of the participants, 30% reported conflicting scores between self-management self-efficacy and wheelchair skills, with 8.1% reporting lower self-efficacy than skill.ConclusionsLow self-efficacy was relatively high in this sample as was its discordance with wheelchair skills. Interventions to address low self-efficacy and/or offset the discordant self-efficacy/skill profiles are warranted.