Walking aid training as a clinical competence in Canadian entry-to-practice professional academic programs

Purpose: Multiple healthcare professionals fit walking aids (WA) and train individuals on their use. The purpose of this investigation was to describe curricula on WA fitting and training in Canadian entry-to-practice professional programs.

Materials and methods: An online survey was administered to leads from all accredited programs (n = 199). Seventeen questions asked about the importance of WA education, instructional methods and time dedicated to WA fitting and skills training, and how the pandemic had affected WA curriculum delivery.

Results: Responses were received from 97 programs. While most occupational therapy (OT, 8/15), physiatry (PM&R, 5/9), and physical therapy (PT, 12/19) trainees received more than 3 h of instruction on WA fitting, most nursing (29/40) and pharmacy (7/8) programs spent less than 3 h on this topic. Most OT (9/15) and PT (15/19) programs spent more than 3 h on WA skills training whereas most nursing (25/40), pharmacy (4/8), and PM&R (5/9) programs spent less than 3 h on this subject. Across all programs, 52% educated students on adapting activities of daily living for WA while 18% provided education on WA maintenance and repair. Only 19/89 programs consulted a formal WA skills training resource for curriculum development. Seventeen of 55 programs modified their WA curricula due to the pandemic.

Conclusions: There is a wide range in curricular approaches to WA education in Canadian professional programs. This highlights the need for a standardised WA education program to guide curricular development to ultimately improve safe WA use for clients with short- and long-term mobility impairments.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONCurricula on walking aids is extremely variable within and between programs.Navigating terrains, adapting activities of daily living, and maintenance are poorly taught.There is a need for a national standardized curriculum on walking aids.This curriculum should be modular and designed for practitioners, students, and patients.