A qualitative study on user acceptance of a home-based stroke telerehabilitation system

Abstract

A qualitative study on a home-based stroke telerehabilitation system Objective: This paper reports a qualitative study of a home-based stroke telerehabilitation system. The telerehabilitation system delivers treatment sessions in the form of daily guided rehabilitation games, exercises, and stroke education in the patient's home. The aims of the current report are to investigate patient perceived benefits of and barriers to using the telerehabilitation system at home. Methods: We used a qualitative study design that involved in-depth semistructured interviews with 13 participants who were patients in the subacute phase after stroke and had completed a six-week intervention using the homebased telerehabilitation system. Thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the data. Results: Participants mostly reported positive experiences with the telerehabilitation system. Benefits included observed improvements in limb functions, cognitive abilities, and emotional well-being. They also perceived the system easy to use due to the engaging experience and the convenience of conducting sessions at home. Meanwhile, participants pointed out the importance of considering technical support and physical environment at home. Further, family members' support helped them sustain in their rehabilitation. Finally, adjusting difficulty levels and visualizing patients' rehabilitation progress might help them in continued use of the telerehabilitation system. Conclusion: The telerehabilitation system studied provides patients with homebased access to rehabilitation games, exercises, stroke education, and therapists. Based on participants' qualitative feedback, it is a promising tool to deliver stroke rehabilitation therapies effectively and remotely to patients at home.

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“…Stroke telerehabilitation programs involving consultations, exercises, games, and therapy aspects have shown positive outcomes such as improving patients' functional abilities and mental health (4). Other benefits include increasing patient motivation and ease due to being in a home setting (73). It is important that patients receive enough support in areas such as technical setup and troubleshooting.…”

Serious Games for Stroke Telerehabilitation of Upper Limb - A Review for Future Research

“…Satisfaction is another important indicator of the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. A high level of satisfaction promotes the patient's motivation to engage in rehabilitation ( Chen et al, 2020 ; Piron et al, 2008 ).…”

The WeReha Project for an Innovative Home-Based Exercise Training in Chronic Stroke Patients: A Clinical Study

“…We hypothesize that this was because the device allowed the patient to feel free to perform the rehabilitation session as desired, both in terms of time and place. Also, the study of Chen et al 45 highlighted how devices for telerehabilitation should be designed in order to offer an engaging experience with display of recovery progress and flexibility in schedule and location. Although, Knepley et al 46 showed in their review that there was no consistent evidence to support that telerehabilitation was better than face-to-face rehabilitation, they underlined that it had several advantages, like increased patient satisfaction through interactive video exercises, familiar location and feasibility, allowing telerehabilitation to become a valuable alternative for vulnerable patients.…”

“… 23 These groups could benefit from a system that allows a health professional to provide rehabilitation services from a remote location. 45 …”

“…23 These groups could benefit from a system that allows a health professional to provide rehabilitation services from a remote location. 45 Also, patients perceived the WeReha as simple to use and had a positive attitude towards new technologies alike which in Table 8. Correlations between TAM scores for each dimension (A, B, C, and D) and the differences between training session and baseline scores (T1-T0) and between the follow-up and training session scores (T2-T1) on the assessment scales (BBS, BI, FM, and mRS).…”