Telerehabilitation for people with physical disabilities and movement impairment: development and evaluation of an online toolkit for practitioners and patients

Abstract

Purpose Telerehabilitation has increasingly been used since the COVID-19 pandemic but with limited guidance available on undertaking physical assessments using remote methods. We aimed to provide such guidance by developing a Telerehab Toolkit, an online information and training resource for practitioners, patients, and carers on telerehabilitation for people with physical disabilities and movement impairment. Materials and methods Development and evaluation of the toolkit were informed by the Knowledge to Action framework and took place iteratively in two phases—knowledge creation and action. Information was collated from various sources including literature review, online survey, service evaluation, and focus group discussions. The toolkit has been evaluated using think-aloud interviews, e-mail and social media feedback from users, and analytics data on user engagement with the website. Results The Telerehab Toolkit focuses on remote physical assessments, and contains information on technology, digital skills, remote assessment tools, information governance, and safety for telerehabilitation. Resources include top tips from practitioners and patients, how-to guides, checklists, videos, and links to evidence. Conclusions The Telerehab Toolkit has been well-received by practitioners, healthcare students, patients, and carers, is being disseminated widely, and is freely available (www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/telerehab). IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Telerehabilitation has been increasingly used since the COVID-19 pandemic, but with limited guidance and training for practitioners on undertaking safe and effective remote physical assessments. The Telerehab Toolkit has been developed iteratively using the Knowledge to Action framework; it is a free online resource for practitioners and patients with specific guidance on telerehabilitation for physical disabilities and movement impairment. It is anticipated that the resource will help to improve the knowledge, skills, and confidence of the current and future rehabilitation workforce.