Williams Cynthia, Toth Lindsay, Osborne Raine, Bailey Chloe E, Joshi Aishwarya
School of Global Health Management and Informatics, College of Community Innovation and Education, University of Central Florida, 528 W. Livingston Street Ste 401, Orlando, FL, 32081, United States, 1 3212766287.
Department of Clinical and Applied Movement Sciences, Brooks College of Health, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, United States.
JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol. 2025 Aug 7;12:e67440. doi: 10.2196/67440.
Wearable sensor systems maximize visual and clinical feedback for physical therapists to enhance patient outcomes in rehabilitation medicine. However, physical therapists must adopt and accept new technologies for full integration into routine care to advance the use of technology in clinical care. Their role in technology design is critical in adopting and implementing technology. Interprofessional collaboration should be supported in the design of rehabilitation-assisted technologies.
We used the established tenets of the Technology Acceptance Model to describe physical therapists' expectations and experiences before and after using a novel wearable system in outpatient physical therapy.
This multiple methods pilot study used a comparative pre-post survey and a qualitative semistructured focus group study design. Using purposive sampling, we recruited outpatient physical therapists to pilot the novel wearable technology, describe their expectations and experiences, and participate in a semistructured focus group discussion conducted to gather training and user experience information.
The study sample consisted of 5 physical therapists with an average age of 38.8 (SD 6.9) years and a work experience average of 12 (SD 7.7) years. Presurvey data show favorable expectations for usefulness and ease of use; however, favorability in both factors decreased after use. For perceived usefulness, all responses moved in the less favorable direction; mean difference -4.4 (SD 3.21); P=.04. All but 2 responses moved in the less favorable direction for overall perceived ease of use; mean difference -4.8 (SD 1.79); P=.04. Themed responses to open-ended questions in the postsurvey were feedback, setup time, accuracy, performance, and enhanced functional activities. Inductive content analysis of the focus group responses resulted in the following themes: system training, system benefits, system challenges, physical therapist perception of patients, and suggestions for improvement. The expectation for frequency of use decreased pre- to postexperience by 53% (mean -22, SD 14.40; P=.04).
The Technology Acceptance Model-based survey responses and focus group themes outcomes demonstrated that physical therapists' expectations for using new technology were not met. Engaging physical therapists in piloting novel wearable technology highlights the importance of physical therapist engagement in developing, refining, and implementing wearable devices for rehabilitation.
可穿戴传感器系统能为物理治疗师提供最大化的视觉和临床反馈，以改善康复医学中的患者治疗效果。然而，物理治疗师必须采用并接受新技术，才能将其全面融入日常护理，从而推动技术在临床护理中的应用。他们在技术设计中的作用对于技术的采用和实施至关重要。在康复辅助技术的设计中应支持跨专业协作。
我们运用技术接受模型的既定原则，来描述物理治疗师在门诊物理治疗中使用新型可穿戴系统之前和之后的期望与体验。
这项多方法试点研究采用了比较性前后测调查和定性半结构化焦点小组研究设计。通过目的抽样，我们招募门诊物理治疗师来试用新型可穿戴技术，描述他们的期望与体验，并参与一场为收集培训和用户体验信息而进行的半结构化焦点小组讨论。
研究样本包括5名物理治疗师，平均年龄38.8（标准差6.9）岁，平均工作经验12（标准差7.7）年。预调查数据显示对有用性和易用性有良好期望；然而，使用后这两个因素的好感度均有所下降。对于感知有用性，所有回答都朝着不太有利的方向变化；平均差异为-4.4（标准差3.21）；P = 0.04。对于总体感知易用性，除2个回答外，所有回答都朝着不太有利的方向变化；平均差异为-4.8（标准差1.79）；P = 0.04。后调查中对开放式问题的主题回答包括反馈、设置时间、准确性、性能和增强的功能活动。对焦点小组回答的归纳性内容分析产生了以下主题：系统培训、系统益处、系统挑战、物理治疗师对患者的看法以及改进建议。使用新技术前后，对使用频率的期望降低了53%（平均-22，标准差14.40；P = 0.04）。
基于技术接受模型的调查回答和焦点小组主题结果表明，物理治疗师对使用新技术的期望未得到满足。让物理治疗师参与试用新型可穿戴技术凸显了物理治疗师参与开发、完善和实施用于康复的可穿戴设备的重要性。
