Abstract
BackgroundMany rehabilitation clinics adopted serious games to support their physiotherapy sessions. Serious games can monitor and provide feedback on exercises and are expected to improve therapy and help professionals deal with more patients. However, there is little understanding of the impacts of serious games on the actual work of physiotherapists.ObjectiveThis study aimed to understand the impact of an electromyography-based serious game on the practical work of physiotherapists.MethodsThis study used observation sessions in an outpatient rehabilitation clinic that recently started using a serious game based on electromyography sensors. In total, 44 observation sessions were performed, involving 3 physiotherapists and 22 patients. Observation sessions were documented by audio recordings or fieldnotes and were analyzed for themes using thematic analysis.ResultsThe findings of this study showed that physiotherapists played an important role in enabling the serious game to work. Physiotherapists briefed patients, calibrated the system, prescribed exercises, and supported patients while they played the serious game, all of which amounted to relevant labor.ConclusionsThe results of this work challenge the idea that serious games reduce the work of physiotherapists and call for an overall analysis of the different impacts a serious game can have. Adopting a serious game that creates more work can be entirely acceptable, provided the clinical outcomes or other advantages enabled by the serious game are strong; however, those impacts will have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Moreover, this work motivates the technology development community to better investigate physiotherapists and their context, offering implications for technology design.
Highlights
Motivation and OverviewDemographic changes in the last few decades have been challenging physiotherapists and health care institutions in Western countries
Adopting a serious game that creates more work can be entirely acceptable, provided the clinical outcomes or other advantages enabled by the serious game are strong; those impacts will have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis
They are more prone to falls, strokes, and cardiac diseases [1], all of which can trigger the need for physical rehabilitation and add pressure on rehabilitation clinics to deal with more patients
Summary
Motivation and OverviewDemographic changes in the last few decades have been challenging physiotherapists and health care institutions in Western countries. The few studies that assessed the experience of therapists with serious games in clinics mention that they play a role in setting up [22,23], training [24], providing feedback or assistance during the games [24], and cleaning up or maintaining systems [22]. These activities are mentioned in some studies, there is little detail about what physiotherapists do and the impact it has on their overall work. This is especially concerning because according to Markus et al [22], who timed different activities of physiotherapists in setting up and playing serious games in a burn care unit, playing the game accounted for solely 22% of the time of the therapists, whereas setting up, training, cleaning, and maintaining the system occupied the remaining time
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