Stroke survivors’ acceptance and satisfaction of telerehabilitation delivery of physiotherapy services: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction

Telerehabilitation has been explored as a solution to several of the barriers to stroke rehabilitation access, and as a necessary alternative to in-person rehabilitation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This review aims to explore stroke survivors’ acceptance and satisfaction of telerehabilitation delivery of physiotherapy services.

Methods

A systematic search using key terms relating to stroke and telerehabilitation was completed of the following electronic databases in July 2021: CINAHL complete (EBSCOhost), Embase (Ovid), Informit, ProQuest, PubMed, ScienceDirect, SCOPUS and SpringerLink. Studies of stroke survivors participating in physiotherapy via telerehabilitation were evaluated for acceptance, usability, and satisfaction outcomes. Duplicates were removed and inclusion criteria applied. Studies were included if they were published between 2010 and July 2021 with an intervention that included a technology element, a component of weightbearing/standing/lower limb exercises, and monitoring from a therapist throughout the intervention period. The included articles were then appraised and categorised into four subgroups.

Results

There were 980 studies initially identified, with eight studies involving 209 participants meeting the criteria for inclusion in this review. There was significant heterogeneity in the included studies across eligibility criteria, intervention parameters, telerehabilitation systems and outcome measures. Overall, stroke survivors had high levels of satisfaction and found physiotherapy delivered via telerehabilitation generally acceptable and easy to use.

Conclusions

Findings of this review indicate stroke survivors are accepting and satisfied with telerehabilitation as a delivery method for physiotherapy. Telerehabilitation in this population may be an effective and acceptable alternative to in-person rehabilitation and ameliorate access barriers associated with COVID-19 restrictions.

Keywords:

• Telerehabilitation
• stroke rehabilitation
• physical therapy
• patient acceptance of health care
• health services accessibility

Authors’ contributions

Both authors contributed to the creation of the manuscript. CL designed and conceptualized the review, and wrote the draft manuscript. MSI was involved in designing and implementing the project as a supervisor, and read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethics approval

Ethics approval was not required for a review of the available literature.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.