REMOTE TELEASSESSMENT AND TELEREHABILITATION OF A COMPREHENSIVE EXERCISE TRAINING PROTOCOL FOR OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

Abstract Background With the increased implementation of interactive technologies for assessment and rehabilitation, it would be optimal to exhibit the reliability of physical assessment measures via tele-assessment. Aim: To determine the test-retest and intra-rater reliability of physical function outcome measures routinely used in the balance and gait rehabilitation using real-time online tele-assessment. Methods Community-dwelling healthy older adults (N=30) participated in three experimental tele-assessment sessions. During each session, a real-time online tele-assessment was performed on five major domains that evaluate balance and gait function: lower limb strength and endurance (30-second chair stand test), aerobic endurance (2-minute step test), static balance (One-legged stand test), dynamic balance (4-step square test), and gait (Tinetti). Results Coefficient of determination (R2) was used to determine the test-retest (TRT) and intra-rater (IR) reliability for all outcome variables. Excellent reliability was shown by Tinetti (TRT-1.0; IR-1.0) and one-legged stand test (non-dominant leg TRT-0.92; IR-0.97 and dominant leg TRT-0.89; IR-0.92). Excellent to good reliability was shown by 4-step square test (TRT-0.89; IR-0.74), 2-min step in place test (TRT-0.85; IR-0.78), and 30-second chair stand test (TRT-0.86; IR-0.80). Conclusion The reliability of individual outcome measures ranged from good to excellent, suggesting that these outcomes have sufficient sensitivity for detecting change with telerehabilitation.