The Motivation Australia team has been working on a Walking Aid Training Package, aiming to increase safe and effective provision of walking aids by hospital and community based health and rehabilitation workers. The package has been developed as part of a broader program to strengthen assistive device provision in Papua New Guinea, however once the package is completed it will be able to be used throughout the Asia Pacific Region.
As part of the development process, pilot training sessions were delivered on 11th of August with Community Based Rehabilitation Workers and Inclusive Education teachers at the Creative Self Help Centre. A second pilot was held at Divine Word University with third year physiotherapy students on the 12th of August.
The training package is focused on ensuring that community personnel can assist people to be as mobile as possible with walking aids that are appropriate for the person and their environment. Training resources have been developed to be delivered easily in different contexts – materials can be printed onto training cards/paper or loaded onto a tablet, laptop or computer for teaching.
Motivation Australia would like to thank the Creative Self Help Centre and the Devine Word University for hosting the training. Thanks to Mercia for delivering the training at the Devine Word University and a very special thank you also to the participants for taking part in the training, sharing their experiences and providing valuable feedback to improve the training.
Feedback collected during the pilot will now be used to inform the next version of the package that will undergo a review by clinicians and stakeholders in Fiji, Australia and PNG. For more information about the training package contact Lee Brentnall.