Physiotherapists’ perceptions of and willingness to use telerehabilitation in Kuwait during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background Telerehabilitation has been considered a suitable alternative healthcare delivery system during the COVID-19 outbreak, and many studies have promoted its feasibility in delivering physical care to patients who live with pain and disability. Physiotherapists’ perceptions and willingness are two key factors that influence the provision of remote physiotherapy. Aim To investigate physiotherapists’ perceptions of and willingness to use telerehabilitation in Kuwait during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore the barriers that may hinder the use of telerehabilitation in this sector. Methods The following methods were used: (1) a cross-sectional survey and (2) face-to-face semi-structured interviews. In the cross-sectional survey, an electronic questionnaire was sent to 747 physiotherapists who were working in the governmental health sector. The questionnaire included four sections: perceptions of telerehabilitation, comfort with technology, willingness to use telerehabilitation, and barriers to using telerehabilitation. Six interviews were conducted with physiotherapy managers to explore the barriers and facilitators of telerehabilitation practice. Data analysis In this study, descriptive data analysis was conducted, and a cross-tabulation technique was used to find the associations between the variables, in which chi-square tests were used to identify the significance of the results, where p < 0.05. Thematic content analysis was used for the interviews. Results Only 273 completed questionnaires were received, giving a response rate of 36.5%. Most of the respondents (237; 86.8%) considered telerehabilitation a viable option to deliver healthcare to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. In spite of the lack of information and communication technology (ICT) (156; 57.1%), 89% (243) of the respondents were willing to integrate telerehabilitation into their conventional practice, as cultural and social norms were not against the use of telerehabilitation systems. The results indicate that the more the physiotherapists used the internet and email in their work and the more comfortable they were with technology, the more willing they were to use telerehabilitation systems (p = 0.01). The physiotherapy managers reported that patients’ privacy and the confidentiality of their data were considered barriers. Conclusion In Kuwait, physiotherapists show overall positive perceptions towards and a willingness to use telerehabilitation to facilitate patients’ access to physiotherapy services. There are several barriers to employing telerehabilitation. Accordingly, recommendations are suggested.

Willingness to use telemedicine during COVID-19 among health professionals in a low income country

“…The result showed that willingness to use telemedicine during COVID-19 was relatively low with 173 (46.5% [95% CI: 39.40, 49.21]) of the participants reporting above mean values. Healthcare professionals’ willingness to use telemedicine during COVID-19 in this study was lower than a study conducted in Kuwait where majority of respondents (93.8%) in Kuwait were happy to use tele-rehabilitation systems to obtain consultations from other medical centers/hospitals and (89%) were willing to deliver physiotherapy via tele-rehabilitation [ 20 ] and China [ 21 ]. The difference could be due to the advancement and expansion of technology in Kuwait is more developed than in Ethiopia.…”

Physiotherapists’ Perspectives Towards Using Telehealth for Acute Concussion Care

“…Physiotherapists occasionally expressed concerns regarding an increase in workload, work-related fatigue, and work-related satisfaction. These perspectives were shared by the participants in Albahrouh and Buabbas' (2021) qualitative study as well. Furthermore, in regard to educational training in VPT, and resource support for PTs, both the participants of Albahrouh and Buabbas' (2021) study and the perspectives of the nine PTs interviewed aligned in the professional factors theme.…”

“…In relation to technology specifically, the two subthemes that were most strongly identified were related to broadband Internet access and limited interruptions to power. Both Caze II et al (2020) and Albahrouh and Buabbas (2021) noted the stability of broadband internet and video quality as main considerations around technology as a barrier. Albahrouh and Buabbas (2021) expanded on this further noting the lack of user-friendly platforms, cost of equipment and limited technology support options for the PTs that they interviewed.…”

“…Both Caze II et al (2020) and Albahrouh and Buabbas (2021) noted the stability of broadband internet and video quality as main considerations around technology as a barrier. Albahrouh and Buabbas (2021) expanded on this further noting the lack of user-friendly platforms, cost of equipment and limited technology support options for the PTs that they interviewed. These considerations were in alignment with the results of this study, as falling within the technology as a barrier theme.…”

Physician’s Perception Toward Using Telemedicine During COVID-19 Pandemic in King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

“…Of those three, time spent during a consultation had a statistically significant effect on the preference of telemedicine over office clinics (p-value = 0.001). Some studies suggested that technical issues, feasibility of telemedicine, and privacy and confidentiality issues were additional significant barriers in applying telemedicine [ 17 , 18 ]. Nevertheless, we could not find a statistical significance in the effect of technology needed for telemedicine (p-value = 0.084) and concerns of privacy while using telemedicine (p-value = 0.111).…”