Use of a Telerehabilitation Platform in a Stroke Continuum: A Qualitative Study of Patient and Therapist Acceptability.

The purpose of this study was to describe the acceptability of a stroke telerehabilitation platform from the perspective of both patients and therapists. Two public rehabilitation centers participated in a pilot telerehabilitation trial. A theoretical framework was used to conceptualize acceptability.

Trajectories of health-related quality of life and their predictors in adult COVID-19 survivors: A longitudinal analysis of the Biobanque Québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC-19).

Purpose: A significant number of people will experience prolonged symptoms after COVID-19 infection that will greatly impact functional capacity and quality of life. The aim of this study was to identify trajectories of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and their predictors among adults diagnosed with COVID-19.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of an ongoing prospective cohort study (BQC-19) including adults (≥18y) recruited from April 2020 to March 2022.

Optimising management of low back pain through the pain and disability drivers management model: Findings from a pilot cluster nonrandomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP) remains the leading cause of disability. The Low Back Pain and Disability Drivers Management (PDDM) model aims to identify the domains driving pain and disability to guide clinical decisions. The objectives of this study were to determine the feasibility of conducting a pragmatic controlled trial of the PDDM model and to explore its effectiveness compared to clinical practice guidelines' recommendations for LBP management.

Training Intervention and Program of Support for Fostering the Adoption of Family-Centered Telehealth in Pediatric Rehabilitation: Protocol for a Multimethod, Prospective, Hybrid Type 3 Implementation-Effectiveness Study.

Background: Children with disability face long wait times for rehabilitation services. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth adoption was low across pediatric rehabilitation. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, pediatric therapists were asked to rapidly shift to telehealth, often with minimal training.

Lessons Learned From Clinicians and Stroke Survivors About Using Telerehabilitation Combined With Exergames: Multiple Case Study.

Background: In Canada, stroke survivors have difficulty accessing community-based rehabilitation services because of a lack of resources. VirTele, a personalized remote rehabilitation program combining virtual reality exergames and telerehabilitation, was developed to provide stroke survivors an opportunity to pursue rehabilitation of their chronic upper extremity (UE) deficits at home while receiving ongoing follow-up from a clinician.

Objective: We aimed to identify the behavioral and motivational techniques used by clinicians during the VirTele intervention, explore the indicators of empowerment among stroke survivors, and investigate the determinants of VirTele use among stroke survivors and clinicians.

Diagnosing, Managing, and Supporting Return to Work of Adults With Rotator Cuff Disorders: Clinical Practice Guideline Methods.

To present the methods used to develop a clinical practice guideline (CPG) with recommendations endorsed by key stakeholders for assessing, managing, and supporting return to work for adults with rotator cuff disorders. Clinical practice guideline development. A steering committee composed of the research team of this project led the development of this CPG in 5 phases, which followed the standards of the NICE and AGREE II collaborations.

Group-based pelvic floor muscle training is a more cost-effective approach to treat urinary incontinence in older women: economic analysis of a randomised trial.

Question(s): How cost-effective is group-based pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) for treating urinary incontinence in older women?

Design: Economic evaluation conducted alongside an assessor-blinded, multicentre randomised non-inferiority trial with 1-year follow-up.

Participants: A total of 362 women aged ≥ 60 years with stress or mixed urinary incontinence.

Intervention: Twelve weekly 1-hour PFMT sessions delivered individually (one physiotherapist per woman) or in groups (one physiotherapist per eight women).

Rehabilitation of Upper Extremity by Telerehabilitation Combined With Exergames in Survivors of Chronic Stroke: Preliminary Findings From a Feasibility Clinical Trial.

Background: Exergames are increasingly being used among survivors of stroke with chronic upper extremity (UE) sequelae to continue exercising at home after discharge and maintain activity levels. The use of virtual reality exergames combined with a telerehabilitation app (VirTele) may be an interesting alternative to rehabilitate the UE sequelae in survivors of chronic stroke while allowing for ongoing monitoring with a clinician.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the feasibility of using VirTele in survivors of chronic stroke at home and explore the impact of VirTele on UE motor function, quantity and quality of use, quality of life, and motivation in survivors of chronic stroke compared with conventional therapy.

Rigorous Qualitative Research Involving Data Collected Remotely From People With Communication Disorders: Experience From a Telerehabilitation Trial.

Diverse challenges arise with research involving people with communication disorders while using remote methods for data collection. Ethical and methodological issues related to the inclusion of people with communication disorders in research, specifically qualitative research, are magnified by communication challenges specific to remote communication. Avenues are discussed to ensure that remote data collection processes can include people with a communication disorder, while limiting negative impacts on the validity of the data.

OpenTera: A microservice architecture solution for rapid prototyping of robotic solutions to COVID-19 challenges in care facilities.

As telecommunications technology progresses, telehealth frameworks are becoming more widely adopted in the context of long-term care (LTC) for older adults, both in care facilities and in homes. Today, robots could assist healthcare workers when they provide care to elderly patients, who constitute a particularly vulnerable population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous work on user-centered design of assistive technologies in LTC facilities for seniors has identified positive impacts.

The acceptability of two remote monitoring modalities for patients waiting for services in a physiotherapy outpatient clinic.

Introduction: Access to public rehabilitation services for patients with non-urgent conditions - which suffer mainly from musculoskeletal disorders - is problematic around the world. Remote rehabilitation services are recognized as effective means to increase accessibility. Patient acceptability is an important element in the successful implementation of such clinical innovations and has not yet been studied thoroughly in this context.

Telerehabilitation for Individuals with Parkinson's Disease and a History of Falls: A Pilot Study.

Falls among persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) decrease health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and are a risk factor for hospitalization. Although physiotherapy can decrease falls and improve functional capacity, people living in remote areas have limited access to such services. This pilot study aimed to document the feasibility of a physiotherapy telerehabilitation intervention for patients with PD and to estimate the change over time in functional capacity, HRQOL, and the rate of falls.

Attributes Underlying Patient Choice for Telerehabilitation Treatment: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review to Support a Discrete Choice Experiment Study Design.

Background: Across most healthcare systems, patients are the primary focus. Patient involvements enhance their adherence to treatment, which in return, influences their health. The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics (ie, attributes) and associated levels (ie, values of the characteristics) that are the most important for patients regarding telerehabilitation (TR) healthcare to support a future discrete choice experiment (DCE) study design.

Effects of Telerehabilitation on Patient Adherence to a Rehabilitation Plan: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Trial.

Background: Strong evidence supports beginning stroke rehabilitation as soon as the patient's medical status has stabilized and continuing following discharge from acute care. However, adherence to rehabilitation treatments over the rehabilitation phase has been shown to be suboptimal.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the impact of a telerehabilitation platform on stroke patients' adherence to a rehabilitation plan and on their level of reintegration into normal social activities, in comparison with usual care.

Developing a Web Platform to Optimize the Self-Management of People Living with a Chronic Respiratory Disease.

The purpose of this article is to describe the development of a new Web platform to optimize self-management after pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) for persons living with a chronic respiratory disease (CRD) and to present data on its usability. The Web platform is informed by a theoretical framework of behaviour changes and concepts of self-management and self-efficacy. It uses breathing exercises and a logbook and is meant to be a self-management tool.

Telerehabilitation for Post-Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Proof-of-Concept Study During a Pandemic.

Purpose: Telerehabilitation could prevent sequelae from COVID-19. We aimed to assess the feasibility of telerehabilitation; describe pulmonary and functional profiles of COVID-19 patients; and explore the effect of telerehabilitation on improving pulmonary symptoms and quality of life.

Methods: We conducted a pre-experimental, pre-post pilot study.

Baduanjin Qigong Intervention by Telerehabilitation (TeleParkinson): A Proof-of-Concept Study in Parkinson's Disease.

Many people living with Parkinson's Disease (PD) face issues with healthcare services, including delays in diagnosis and treatment, as well as limited access to specialized care, including rehabilitation programs. Non-motor and motor signs and symptoms typically observed in people with PD, such as tremor, rigidity, postural instability, bradykinesia, and freezing are particularly disabling and have been associated with falls, fractures, hospitalizations, and a worse quality of life. Baduanjin Qigong (BDJ) programs have been proven potentially effective in improving physical outcomes and reducing the incidence of falls in PD.

A Personalized Home-Based Rehabilitation Program Using Exergames Combined With a Telerehabilitation App in a Chronic Stroke Survivor: Mixed Methods Case Study.

Background: In Canada, only 11% of stroke survivors have access to outpatient and community-based rehabilitation after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. Hence, innovative community-based strategies are needed to provide adequate postrehabilitation services. The VirTele program, which combines virtual reality exergames and a telerehabilitation app, was developed to provide stroke survivors with residual upper extremity deficits, the opportunity to participate in a personalized home rehabilitation program.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tCDS) after subacromial injections in patients with subacromial pain syndrome: a randomized controlled pilot study.

Background: Subacromial pain syndrome (SAPS) is a common complaint in orthopaedics. Subacromial corticosteroid injections (CSI) can relieve pain in the short term. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) has been used for symptomatic pain relief in a variety of chronic pain conditions.

Pelvic floor morphometrical and functional changes immediately after pelvic floor muscle training and at 1-year follow-up, in older incontinent women.

Aims: To compare the effects of group-based and individual physiotherapy for stress or mixed urinary incontinence (UI) on pelvic floor morphometry, pelvic floor muscle (PFM) function, and related self-efficacy, immediately after treatment and at 1 year.

Methods: This is a planned secondary analysis of the group rehabilitation or individual physiotherapy study, an assessor-blinded, randomized, noninferiority trial. Eligible participants included 362 community-dwelling older women with symptoms of stress/mixed UI.

Group-Based vs Individual Pelvic Floor Muscle Training to Treat Urinary Incontinence in Older Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Urinary incontinence is one of the most prevalent health concerns experienced by older women (aged ≥60 years). Individual pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is the recommended first-line treatment for stress or mixed urinary incontinence in women, but human and financial resources limit its delivery. Whether group-based PFMT performs as well as individual PFMT in this population remains unclear.

Optimization of Upper Extremity Rehabilitation by Combining Telerehabilitation With an Exergame in People With Chronic Stroke: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Exergames have the potential to provide an accessible, remote approach for poststroke upper extremity (UE) rehabilitation. However, the use of exergames without any follow-up by a health professional could lead to compensatory movements during the exercises, inadequate choice of difficulty level, exercises not being completed, and lack of motivation to pursue exercise programs, thereby decreasing their benefits. Combining telerehabilitation with exergames could allow continuous adjustment of the exercises and monitoring of the participant's completion and adherence.