Sobrepera Michael J, Elfishawy Julie, Nguyen Anh T, Prosser Laura P, Johnson Michelle J
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Arch Rehabil Res Clin Transl. 2024 Feb 13;6(2):100326. doi: 10.1016/j.arrct.2024.100326. eCollection 2024 Jun.
To determine if the use of telerehabilitation among rehabilitation therapists during the first 11 months of the COVID-19 pandemic increased, if therapists' identified plans to continue use after the pandemic, and to understand challenges that therapists face in using telerehabilitation, and to evaluate viable use-cases for telerehabilitation.
A survey was conducted among clinicians containing questions about tools being used before, during, and after (planned) COVID-19. Statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate the increase in actual usage of telerehabilitation during the pandemic and planned usage after the pandemic.
The study was survey-based and conducted remotely via online distribution.
387 participants (90.2% women) with an average age of 40.1 years participated in the survey and satisfied selection criteria. On average, they practiced for 14.8 years.
No interventions were made. Survey item results were used for analysis.
Therapists used telerehabilitation more frequently during COVID-19 as compared with before COVID-19. Therapist use of video calls more than tripled (288.89% increase) during COVID-19. Speech therapists were far more likely to adopt telerehabilitation than physical therapists or occupational therapists. 18.9% of therapists planned to use video-based remote communication with patients after COVID-19. 31% of therapists who had not previously used telerehabilitation prior to the pandemic anticipated using it post-pandemic. Most therapists (88%) believed that discussion-based activities could be done remotely.
COVID-19 has affected the way therapists interact with patients. These changes may have lasting effect on patient interactions and a perceived potential for future use of telerehabilitation is evident. Therapists who had already made use of remote communication had more optimistic outlooks on the future utility of these mediums, indicating that exposure favors future use. Therapists anticipate a potential increase in utilization of Video-Based Telerehabilitation post-pandemic but have faced and expect to face challenges in use of telerehabilitation. While disparities and obstacles to access pose challenges, the progress made during COVID-19 is promising.
确定在2019冠状病毒病大流行的前11个月中，康复治疗师对远程康复的使用是否增加，治疗师是否确定了大流行后继续使用的计划，了解治疗师在使用远程康复时面临的挑战，并评估远程康复的可行用例。
对临床医生进行了一项调查，其中包含有关在2019冠状病毒病之前、期间和之后（计划中）使用的工具的问题。进行了统计分析，以评估大流行期间远程康复的实际使用增加情况以及大流行后计划中的使用情况。
该研究基于调查，通过在线分发远程进行。
387名参与者（90.2%为女性）参与了调查，平均年龄为40.1岁，符合选择标准。他们平均从业14.8年。
未进行干预。调查项目结果用于分析。
与2019冠状病毒病之前相比，治疗师在2019冠状病毒病期间更频繁地使用远程康复。在2019冠状病毒病期间，治疗师对视频通话的使用增加了两倍多（增加了288.89%）。言语治疗师比物理治疗师或职业治疗师更有可能采用远程康复。18.9%的治疗师计划在2019冠状病毒病后使用基于视频的远程通信与患者沟通。31%在大流行之前未使用过远程康复的治疗师预计在大流行后会使用它。大多数治疗师（88%）认为基于讨论的活动可以远程进行。
2019冠状病毒病影响了治疗师与患者互动的方式。这些变化可能对患者互动产生持久影响，并且远程康复在未来使用的潜在可能性是明显的。已经使用远程通信的治疗师对这些媒介的未来效用有更乐观的看法，这表明接触有利于未来使用。治疗师预计大流行后基于视频的远程康复的利用率可能会增加，但在使用远程康复方面已经面临并预计会面临挑战。虽然获取方面的差距和障碍构成挑战，但在2019冠状病毒病期间取得的进展是有希望的。
