Feasibility, Satisfaction With, and Attitude Toward Telerehabilitation During COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience of Iranian Rehabilitation Professionals

Abstract

Objectives: COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences highlighted the importance of using telerehabilitation systems and affected the professional’s attitude toward it. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility, satisfaction, and attitude of rehabilitation professionals toward telerehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the feasibility, satisfaction, and attitude of rehabilitation professionals toward virtual training and telerehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 118 occupational therapists, speech therapists, audiologists, psychologists, and educators completed the study questionnaires. Results: The findings indicate that the correlations among satisfaction, feasibility, advantages, and compatibility were significant (r ranging from 0.418 to 0.717). There were significant but weak positive correlations between years of working experience and scores of feasibility and advantages. In addition, the mean scores of feasibility, advantages, compatibility, and complexity in participants who provided telerehabilitation before the COVID-19 pandemic were higher than other respondents. Discussion: Because of the positive role of telerehabilitation in a situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic, health care systems should create mechanisms for its optimal use, protocol preparation, health professionals training, and infrastructure acquisition.