Knowledge, Attitude, and Barriers to Telerehabilitation-Based Physical Therapy Practice in Saudi Arabia.

Saleh Aloyuni,Mazen Alqahtani,Faizan Kashoo,Mehrunnisha Ahmad,Msaad Alzhrani,Ahmad Alanazi,Raed Alharbi

doi:10.3390/healthcare8040460

Abstract

(1) Telerehabilitation (TR) is a part of telemedicine involved in providing rehabilitation services to people in remote locations. TR in physical therapy in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is still in its infancy and its implementation may pose different challenges in the physical therapy settings. The purpose of this nation-wide survey is to explore physiotherapists (PTs) knowledge, attitudes, and barriers towards implementation of TR in physical therapy settings; (2) Methods: A 14 item questionnaire was developed and mailed to PTs working in hospitals and rehabilitation centers across 13 provinces in Saudi Arabia; (3) Results: 347 PTs responded. Results are as follows: 58.8% (n = 204) of PTs reported that they had sufficient knowledge about TR. About31.7% (n = 110) of PTs reported that their hospital and rehabilitation center had installed TR, yet only 19.9% (n = 69) utilized the TR facility. Image-based TR was more frequently used (n = 33) as compared to sensor-based TR (n = 29) and virtual reality TR (n = 10).The main barriers were technical issues and cost related to implement TR in physical therapy settings; and (4) Conclusions: There is a relatively high number of PTs with self-reported knowledge about TR, however facilities and usage were limited. The main barriers were technical issues, staff skills, and the high cost involved in the introduction of TR in the PT-based health care settings.

Highlights

The World Health Organization has recommended running only essential rehabilitation services and suspending non-essential services to ensure safety during the COVID-19 pandemic [1].These guidelines necessitate the suspension of most of the not-urgent physical therapy activities across the globe
Over 347 physical therapist (PT) participated in this survey (n = 347; 106 male, and 70 females) across 13 provinces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
The highest (n = 81) number of responses was from Makkah province and the lowest response was from Al Baha and Arar province of Saudi Arabia (n = 5,) (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

The World Health Organization has recommended running only essential rehabilitation services and suspending non-essential services to ensure safety during the COVID-19 pandemic [1]. These guidelines necessitate the suspension of most of the not-urgent physical therapy activities across the globe. Restricting clinical practice is mandatory to control the spread of infection and is a moral responsibility of every physical therapist (PT). Such a decision for an extended period could halt the progress or may worsen the pain and disability among patients. To overcome the current situation, a physical therapy regulatory body known as the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT), in association with the International Network of Physiotherapy Regulatory

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