The Current State of Remote Physiotherapy in Finland : Cross-sectional Web-Based Questionnaire Study

Publisher Copyright: ©Thomas Hellstén, Jari Arokoski, Tuulikki Sjögren, Anna-Maija Jäppinen, Jyrki Kettunen.Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has required social, health, and rehabilitation organizations to implement remote physiotherapy (RP) as a part of physiotherapists’ daily practice. RP may improve access to physiotherapy as it delivers physiotherapy services to rehabilitees through information and communications technology. Even if RP has already been introduced in this century, physiotherapists’ opinion, amount of use, and form in daily practice have not been studied extensively. Objective: This study aims to investigate physiotherapists’ opinions of the current state of RP in Finland. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional, web-based questionnaire was sent to working-aged members of the Finnish Association of Physiotherapists (n=5905) in March 2021 and to physiotherapists in a private physiotherapy organization (n=620) in May 2021. The questionnaire included questions on the suitability of RP in different diseases and the current state and implementation of RP in work among physiotherapists. Results: Of the 6525 physiotherapists, a total of 9.9% (n=662; n=504, 76.1% female; mean age 46.1, SD 12 years) answered the questionnaire. The mean suitability “score” (0=not suitable at all to 10=fully suitable) of RP in different disease groups varied from 3.3 (neurological diseases) to 6.1 (lung diseases). Between early 2020 (ie, just before the COVID-19 pandemic) and spring 2021, the proportion of physiotherapists who used RP increased from 33.8% (21/62) to 75.4% (46/61; P20% of their practice time for RP in 2021. The real-time method was the most common RP method in both groups (public sector 46/66, 69.7% vs private sector 157/219, 71.7%; P=.47). The three most commonly used technical equipments were computers/tablets (229/290, 79%), smartphones (149/290, 51.4%), and phones (voice call 51/290, 17.6%). The proportion of physiotherapists who used computers/tablets in RP was higher in the private sector than in the public sector (183/221, 82.8% vs 46/68, 67.6%; P=.01). In contrast, a higher proportion of physiotherapists in the public sector than in the private sector used phones (18/68, 26.5% vs 33/221, 14.9%; P=.04). Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, physiotherapists increased their use of RP in their everyday practice, although practice time in RP was still low. When planning RP for rehabilitees, it should be considered that the suitability of RP in different diseases seems to vary in the opinion of physiotherapists. Furthermore, our results brought up important new information for developing social, health, and rehabilitation education for information and communications technologies.Peer reviewe

The use of wearables in healthcare – challenges and opportunities

Shortage of skilled healthcare personnel with the required Information- and communication technology competence have been common because of the fast pace of technological innovations. To ensure a sustainable and secure development in health and welfare, there is a need for future professionals to have an understanding of the new digital data on individuals, clients and patients that are emerging in healthcare with the new wearable devices. The aim of this article is to discuss the opportunities and challenges for professionals meeting the digital individual and the data produced on them by new wearable technologies. The road from patient to digital patient is today a challenge for both individuals and professionals, as well as for the society

Polven takaristisidepotilaan kuntoutusprosessin kuvaus ja sen kehittäminen ORTON Invalidisäätiössä

Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli yhtenäistää ja edistää polven takaristisidevamman (posterior cruciate ligament, PCL) jälkeistä kuntoutusprosessia huomioiden kuntoutujien näkökulmat ORTON Invalidisäätiössä. Tavoitteena oli kuvata polven PCL-vamman jälkeistä kuntoutusprosessia ja selvittää kuntoutujien kokemuksia kuntoutusprosessista sekä heidän toimintakyvystään työssä ja vapaa-ajalla. Tavoitteena oli selkeyttää ja yhtenäistää toimintatapoja, jotta kuntoutus noudattaisi hyvää käytäntöä ja olisi mahdollisimman tuloksellista. Tutkimuksellinen lähestymistapa oli toimintatutkimus. Tutkimusprosessi eteni seuraavien vaiheiden kautta: 1) tutkija laati kuvauksen kuntoutusprosessista, 2) tutkija teki ryhmähaastattelun säännöllisesti PCL kuntoutuksessa mukana oleville työntekijöille, 3) haastattelun tulosten pohjalta tutkija muutti laatimansa kuntoutusprosessin kuvausta ja 4) tarkasti, että kaikki työntekijät hyväksyvät kuntoutusprosessin kuvauksen. Postikyselyllä kerättiin potilaiden kokemukset kuntoutusprosessista PCL leikkauksen jälkeen sekä potilaiden toimintakyvystä työssä ja vapaa-ajalla. Kysely lähetettiin niille 21 potilaalle, jolla oli kulunut PCL tai PCL-ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) leikkauksesta toukokuussa 2009 vuosi. PCL vamman hoitoon ja kuntoutukseen osallistuvien terveysalan ammattilaisten mukaan: 1) hyvän kuntoutus tuloksen saavuttamiseksi on tärkeää, että potilas sitoutuu kuntoutusprotokollaan ja ymmärtää, miten kuntoutusprosessi etenee, 2) potilaat olettavat usein, että takaristiside leikkaus on kirurgisesti pieni toimenpide ja siitä kuntoutuminen on nopeaa, 3) hyvän hoitotuloksen saavuttamiseksi kuntoutuksen tulee edetä rauhallisesti. Osa potilaista ei koe saavansa riittävästi tietoa leikkauksesta ja siihen liittyvästä hoidosta ja kuntoutuksesta hoidon eri vaiheissa eri ammattilaisilta. Potilaat olivat joko erittäin tai melko tyytyväisiä leikkauksen jälkeiseen hoitoon ja kuntoutukseen. Vuoden jälkeen toimenpiteestä kokemus polvikivuista oli keskimäärin 2,7 pistettä (0-10).Vastanneista puolet kokivat polvivaivastaan haittaa päivittäisissä toimissaan. Puolella vastanneista polvivaiva aiheutti oireita työssä, mutta siitä huolimatta he selviytyivät työstään.The aim of this Master´s Thesis was to equalize and imporve the rehabilitation process after posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury paying attention to the patients´ perspective in ORTON Foundation. The goal was to illustrate the rehabilitation process after PCL injury and find out the rehabilitators´ experience of the rehabilitation process and their function at work and leisure. The aim is to clarify and equalize the practice so that the rehabilitation would follow good practice and be as successful as possible. Functional research approach was used in this final project. The research process progressed by the following steps 1) researcher made a description form of the rehabilitation process 2) researcher carried out a group interview with workers that constantly work with PCL injury 3) based on the results of the interview, reasearcher made changes in the rehabilitation process 4) reasearcher controlled that the workers accepted the final result. The PCL patients´ experience of the rehabilitation protocol and their function at work and leisure was collected by a mail questionare. It was sent to 21 patients, one year after an PCL or PCL-ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) surgery in May 2009. According to the health care workers, to reach a good result in rehabilitation it is important that 1) the patient is committed to the rehabilitation protocol and understands how the protocol goes on 2) that the patient understands that the PCL surgery is demanding and the rehabilitation process is slow and 3) to achieve a good result in rehabilitation, it should progress slowly. The patients were either very or fairly satisfied with the care and rehabilitation after the surgery. Some of the patients experience that they had not been given enough information about the surgery, care and rehabilitation at different stages of the process by professionals. One year after the operation, the patients had knee pain in average 2,7 points (on scale from 0 to 10). In this study, half of the patients experienced knee pain in daily living and knee irritation at work, but they still coped with their work.     

Virtual Reality in rehabilitation: a user perspective

In rehabilitation stroke and Multiple sclerosis (MS) are two very common causes of motor disability in adults. Traditional rehabilitation is very time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, rehabilitation professionals are looking to Virtual Reality (VR) technology in order to assist patients on their path to function better in their daily lives. Recent studies have mostly investigated the end results of VR therapy, but the user experience has been less studied. This working paper presents a thematic review of recent studies to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of VR solutions in motor rehabilitation from the user perspective. Our findings suggest that VR rehabilitation can be more motivating for the patient than traditional rehabilitation, but current VR interventions are often overly simplistic and not customized for the user. This presents opportunities for innovative service design

Remote physiotherapy in Finland : suitability, usability and factors affecting its use

Abstract Objective To investigate physiotherapists’ views on suitability, usability and factors affecting the use of remote physiotherapy in Finland. Design A cross-sectional, web-based questionnaire study. Subjects Members of the Finnish Association of Physiotherapists and a private physiotherapy organisation. Methods The questionnaire included questions on remote physiotherapy′s suitability (0 = not suitable at all to 10 = fully suitable) for different physiotherapy tasks (consultation, guidance and counselling, exercise, assessment and corrective act at the workplace), a reason to implement remote physiotherapy, how often remote physiotherapy is used at different stages of the physiotherapy process and factors affecting the use of remote physiotherapy. Results The response rate was 9.9% (N=662/6525; 76.1% female). The mean suitability ‘score’ for remote physiotherapy differed from 7.6 (consultation, guidance and counselling) to 3.8 (corrective act at a workplace). Physiotherapists with at least one year experience of working with remote physiotherapy reported that it is better suited to consultation, guidance and counselling, exercise and assessment (p-values <.05) than did those with less experience. Of the responders (physiotherapists), 72.5% used conventional physiotherapy, 7.2% used remote physiotherapy and 20.2% used a combination of the two as primary work method. Conclusion Physiotherapists stated that remote physiotherapy suits especially for consultation, guidance and counselling, but it is still minimally used as primary work method in different stages of the physiotherapy process.peerReviewe

Online learning in dentistry: an overview of the future direction for dental education

This paper provides an overview of the diversity of tools available for online learning and identifies the drivers of online learning and directives for future research relating to online learning in dentistry. After an introduction and definitions of online learning, this paper considers the democracy of knowledge and tools and systems that have democratized knowledge. It identifies assessment systems and the challenges of online learning. This paper also identifies the drivers for online learning, including those for instructors, administrators and leaders, technology innovators, information and communications technology personnel, global dental associations and government. A consideration of the attitudes of the stakeholders and how they might work together follows, using the example of the unique achievement of the successful collaboration between the Universities of Adelaide, Australia and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The importance of the interaction of educational principles and research on online learning is discussed. The paper ends with final reflections and conclusions, advocating readers to move forward in adopting online learning as a solution to the increasing worldwide shortage of clinical academics to teach dental clinicians of the future.D. J. Schönwetter, P. A. Reynolds, K. A. Eaton, & J. De Vrie