A Scoping Review for Usage of Telerehabilitation among Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment or Cognitive Frailty

Abstract

Older adults are vulnerable towards cognitive frailty that can lead to adverse health outcomes and telerehabilitation appears to be a potential platform to reverse cognitive frailty among older adults. The aim of this coping review is to identify the usage of telerehabilitation and its common platform of delivery among older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or cognitive frailty (CF). Articles published from January 2015 until October 2020 were selected. Out of the 1738 articles retrieved, six studies were identified. Two articles were randomized controlled trials, one was a pilot study and three were qualitative studies. The outcome suggests that telerehabilitation may improve the quality of life among participants as well as it can be a useful and supportive digital platform for health care. Some types of technologies commonly used were smartphones or telephones with internet, television-based assistive integrated technology, mobile application and videoconference. Telerehabilitation utilization in managing cognitive frailty among older adults is still limited and more research is required to evaluate its feasibility and acceptability. Although telerehabilitation appears to be implemented among older adults with MCI and CF, some social support is still required to improve the adherence and effectiveness of telerehabilitation. Future research should focus on the evaluation of acceptance and participants’ existing knowledge towards telerehabilitation to achieve its target.

Pharmacological, Nutritional, and Rehabilitative Interventions to Improve the Complex Management of Osteoporosis in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Narrative Review

“…In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted new challenges in the management of patients with COPD that were isolated for months at home with decreased physical activity levels and reduced health care delivery [ 175 , 176 ]. In this scenario, “telerehabilitation” has been proposed to improve the remote management of these frail patients; telemedicine spreads with the increasing interest of physicians on the technological innovation in rehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 177 , 178 , 179 , 180 ].…”

Enablers and Barriers of Accessing Health Care Services among Older Adults in South-East Asia: A Scoping Review

“…As a result, telerehabilitation became an alternative platform to deliver health education and care [ 50 ]. Despite the majority of older adults being digitally illiterate, a recent review study found that older adults found telerehabilitation acceptable, thus improving access to healthcare [ 51 , 52 ]. However, the older adults’ acceptability and barriers in implementing telerehabilitation should be addressed first to improve the achievement of targeted outcomes.…”

Closing the Gap between Inpatient and Outpatient Settings: Integrating Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Technological Advances in the Comprehensive Management of Frail Patients

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, several frail patients became isolated at home with detrimental consequences in terms of their functional status and social participation [ 58 , 59 ]. Therefore, in recent years a growing interest in telehealth and telerehabilitation solutions that might improve healthcare delivery in frail patients is observed [ 60 , 61 , 62 ].…”

“…To date, several telemedicine programs were recently proposed to improve both screening and therapeutic intervention in frail patients suffering from pathological respiratory conditions [ 60 , 61 , 62 ]. In particular, telehealth exercise interventions and digitally supported territorial health networks were effectively introduced to overcome barriers to in-person medical assistance [ 60 , 61 , 62 ].…”