Fischer Steven L, Hawley Sheldon J, Bains Amandeep, Carter Tom
Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada.
CBI Health, 3300 Bloor St. W. Etobicoke, Toronto, M8X 2X2, Canada.
J Occup Rehabil. 2024 Nov 2. doi: 10.1007/s10926-024-10249-0.
Functional testing is important to inform return-to-work (RTW), but new paradigms are needed to increase access and availability of testing. Our purpose was to deploy a user centred design approach to collect, describe, and interpret end-user feedback (clinicians and patients) to inform functional requirements for a remotely administered hybrid functional test (RAHFT) protocol.
Twenty participants (10 clinicians and 10 patients) were interviewed about existing in-person functional testing and about perceptions of prospective remotely administered functional testing protocols. Interview data were synthesized, where findings informed a focus group with functional testing clinician experts to identify functional design requirements for a RAHFT protocol.
Patients agreed that access to equipment and technology, safety, and personal connections were important requirements for a functional testing protocol. Expert clinicians emphasized that a RAHFT should provide valid information to inform treatment planning and RTW outcome decisions, inclusive of opportunities to capture subjective and performance-based information.
RAHFT protocols can play an important role towards early and safe RTW. RAHFT protocols will increase availability and improve access for workers that cannot easily attend a clinic for in-person testing. Findings from this study provide functional requirements that should be considered when designing RAHFT protocols.
功能测试对于指导重返工作岗位（RTW）很重要，但需要新的模式来增加测试的可及性和可用性。我们的目的是采用以用户为中心的设计方法来收集、描述和解释终端用户（临床医生和患者）的反馈，以为远程管理的混合功能测试（RAHFT）方案的功能需求提供信息。
对20名参与者（10名临床医生和10名患者）进行了访谈，内容涉及现有的面对面功能测试以及对未来远程管理功能测试方案的看法。对访谈数据进行了综合分析，研究结果为与功能测试临床专家进行的焦点小组讨论提供了信息，以确定RAHFT方案的功能设计要求。
患者一致认为，功能测试方案的重要要求包括设备和技术的可及性、安全性以及人际联系。专家临床医生强调，RAHFT应提供有效的信息以指导治疗计划和RTW结果决策，包括获取主观信息和基于表现的信息的机会。
RAHFT方案对于早期安全的RTW可发挥重要作用。RAHFT方案将提高可及性，并改善那些难以前往诊所进行面对面测试的员工的测试机会。本研究的结果提供了设计RAHFT方案时应考虑的功能要求。
