Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, therapists have adapted face-to-face services to comply with social distancing measures. While many patients and practitioners alike seemed to adapt well, now research has confirmed that it can be a practical way of delivering rehab for stroke patients.
A new paper, co-authored by Brodie Sakakibara, assistant professor at the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management has found that remote, virtual rehab works for people recovering from a stroke.
Six clinical trials were launched across Canada as part of a Heart and Stroke Foundation initiative, where people recovering from a stroke were given interventions including memory, speech and physical exercise training.
Researchers from each of the six trials found that the telerehabilitation was just as cost-effective as traditional face-to-face rehab, and that patients mostly reported that they were satisfied with their telerehab.
They reported in the paper, published in the Telemedicine and e-health journal, that patients were most satisfied, the researchers found, when there was some social interaction and clinicians were appropriately trained.
Overall, clinicians reported that they prefer face-to-face interaction, but will use telerehab where this isn’t possible.
“Telerehabilitation has been promoted as a more efficient means of delivering rehabilitation services to stroke patients while also providing care options to those unable to attend conventional therapy,” Sakakibara says.
“These services can be provided to remote locations through information and communication technologies and can be accessed by patients in their homes.”
The researchers also highlight a need for technology in stroke rehab to be easy to use and well suited to the user’s needs.
“The older adult of today, in terms of technology comfort and use, is different than the older adult of tomorrow,” Sakakibara says. “While there might be some hesitation of current older adults using technology to receive health and rehab services, the older adult of tomorrow likely is very comfortable using technology. This represents a large opportunity to develop and establish the telehealth/rehabilitation model of care.”
These findings are important because telerehab is becoming much more widely implemented.
“Prior to the outbreak, telehealth/rehabilitation was highly recommended in Canadian stroke professional guidelines, but was underused,” Sakakibara says.
“Now in response to COVID-19, the use of telerehabilitation has been accelerated to the forefront. Once these programs are implemented in practice, it’ll be part of the norm, even when the outbreak is over. It is important that we develop and study telerehabilitation programs to ensure the programs are effective and benefit the patients.”
