JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 disrupted services received by persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) worldwide. The International Disability Alliance declared the need for a disability-inclusive response to the COVID-19 crisis, as decreased access to health care services for individuals living with varying levels of function was unacceptable. As a result, an SCI community in Canada created a novel webinar-based strategy aimed at improving access to self-management information for people living with SCI and other stakeholders...

BACKGROUND: Due to growing pressure on the healthcare system, a shift in rehabilitation to the home setting is essential. However, efficient support in home-based rehabilitation is still lacking. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these challenges, and affected individuals and healthcare professionals during rehabilitation. Digital rehabilitation (DR) could support home-based rehabilitation. To develop and implement DR solutions that meet the clients' needs and ease the growing pressure on the healthcare system it is necessary to give an overview of existing, relevant and future solutions shaping the constantly evolving market of technologies for home-based DR...

BACKGROUND: No consensus exists on the efficacy of home-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in patients who have undergone transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Additionally, there are no reports on home-based cardiac telemonitoring rehabilitation (HBTR) in patients after TAVI. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the efficacy of HBTR in patients who have undergone TAVI. METHODS: This single-center preliminary study introduced HBTR to patients after TAVI, and the efficacy outcomes of the rehabilitation method were compared to that of a historical control cohort...

BACKGROUND: Electronic knowledge resources are readily available and typically target different audiences, including health professionals and the public, that is, those with lived experience and their relatives. The knowledge-to-action framework, in combination with the information assessment method (IAM), considering both the value-of-information construct and the conceptual model of acquisition-cognition-application, can be used to support the evaluation process of such resources. As an example, Stroke Engine is an evidence-based knowledge translation resource in stroke rehabilitation (assessments and interventions) for health professionals and students as well as individuals who have sustained a stroke and their relatives...

BACKGROUND: Patients who were incarcerated were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 compared to the general public. Further, the impact of multidisciplinary rehabilitation assessments and interventions on the outcomes of patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 is limited. OBJECTIVE: To compare functional outcomes of oral intake, mobility, and activity between inmates and non-inmates who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and examine the relationships among these functional measures and discharge destination...

BACKGROUND: Female genital mutilation is considered a crime but is still practiced today in Africa and the Middle East, despite all the laws that make this procedure illegal due to the long-term physical and psychological harm it causes to women. Millions of girls and women living today have undergone genital mutilation, which involves removing the external female genitalia either partially or totally, based on the belief that it restricts feminine sexuality, thereby "saving" a girl for marriage...

BACKGROUND: The number of wearable technological devices or sensors that are commercially available for gait training is increasing. These devices can fill a gap by extending therapy outside the clinical setting. This was shown to be important during the COVID-19 pandemic when people could not access one-on-one treatment. These devices vary widely in terms of mechanisms of therapeutic effect, as well as targeted gait parameters, availability, and strength of the evidence supporting the claims...

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of resources for the provision of adequate rehabilitation after a stroke, thus creating a challenge to provide the necessary high-quality, patient-centered, and cost-efficient rehabilitation services at a time when they are needed the most. Tablet-based therapeutic programs present an alternative way to access rehabilitation services and show a new paradigm for providing therapeutic interventions following a stroke anytime and anywhere. The digital assistant Vigo is an artificial intelligence-based app that provides an opportunity for a new, more integrative way of carrying out a home-based rehabilitation program...

BACKGROUND: People with motor, visual, and intellectual disabilities may have serious problems in independently accessing various forms of functional daily occupation and communication. OBJECTIVE: The study was aimed at developing and assessing new, low-cost technology-aided programs to help people with motor or visual-motor and intellectual disabilities independently engage in functional forms of occupation and communication with distant partners. METHODS: Two programs were set up using a smartphone interfaced with a 2-switch device and a tablet interfaced with 2 pressure sensors, respectively...

BACKGROUND: Knowledge on physical activity recovery after COVID-19 survival is limited. The AFTER (App-Facilitated Tele-Rehabilitation) program for COVID-19 survivors randomized participants, following hospital discharge, to either education and unstructured physical activity or a telerehabilitation program. Step count data were collected as a secondary outcome, and we found no significant differences in total step count trajectories between groups at 6 weeks. Further step count data were not analyzed...

BACKGROUND: Although the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a rapid implementation and scale-up of telehealth for patients in need of rehabilitation, an overall slower scaling up to telerehabilitation has been documented. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to understand experiences of implementing telerehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as using the Toronto Rehab Telerehab Toolkit from the perspective of rehabilitation professionals across Canada and internationally...

BACKGROUND: Resource-rich countries are facing the challenge of aging societies, a high risk of dependence, and a high cost of care. Researchers attempted to address these issues by using cost-efficient, innovative technology to promote healthy aging and regain functionality. After an injury, efficient rehabilitation is crucial to promote returning home and prevent institutionalization. However, there is often a lack of motivation to carry out physical therapies. Consequently, there is a growing interest in testing new approaches like gamified physical rehabilitation to achieve functional targets and prevent rehospitalization...

BACKGROUND: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic impacted the access to inpatient rehabilitation services. At the current state of research, it is unclear to what extent the adaptation of rehabilitation services to infection-protective standards affected patient-centred care in Germany. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore which aspects of patient-centred care were relevant for patients in inpatient rehabilitation clinics under early-phase pandemic conditions. METHODS: A deductive-inductive framework analysis of online patient reports posted on a leading German hospital rating website was conducted (www...

BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of patients do not adhere to their prescribed course of physical therapy or self-discharge themselves from care. Adhering to prescribed physical therapy, including attending physical therapy clinic appointments, contribute to patients achieving the goals of therapy including reducing pain and increasing functioning. Online platforms have been demonstrated to be effective means for managing clinical patients with musculoskeletal pain similar to managing them in person...

BACKGROUND: As global positioning system (GPS) measurement is getting more precise and affordable, health researchers can now objectively measure mobility using GPS sensors. Available systems, however, often lack data security and means of adaptation and often rely on a permanent internet connection. OBJECTIVE: To overcome these issues, we aimed to develop and test an easy-to-use, easy-to-adapt, and offline working app using smartphone sensors (GPS and accelerometry) for the quantification of mobility parameters...

BACKGROUND: Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, telerehabilitation (TR) has been expanding to address the challenges and risks of in-person delivery. It is likely that a level of TR delivery will continue after the pandemic because of its advantages, such as reducing geographical barriers to service. Many pandemic-related TR initiatives were put in place quickly. Therefore, we have little understanding of current TR delivery, barriers and facilitators, and how therapists anticipate integrating TR into current practice...

BACKGROUND: Objective measures specifically assessing selective voluntary motor control are scarce. Therefore, we have developed an interval-scaled assessment based on accelerometers. OBJECTIVE: This study provided a preliminary evaluation of the validity and reliability of this novel gamelike assessment measuring lower limb selective voluntary motor control in children with cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS: Children with CP and their neurologically intact peers were recruited for this psychometric evaluation of the assessgame...

BACKGROUND: A critical gap in our knowledge about social media is whether we can alleviate accessibility barriers and challenges for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI), to improve their social participation and health. To do this, we need real-time information about these barriers and challenges, to design appropriate aids. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to characterize the ways people with TBI accessed and used social media websites and understand unique challenges they faced...

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a global pandemic. Lifestyle approaches have been shown effective for weight loss and weight loss maintenance. Central to these evidence-based approaches are increased physical activity, decreased caloric intake, regular self-weighing, and the tracking of these behaviors. OBJECTIVE: This exploratory descriptive study surveyed adults who are legally blind to identify strategies related to tracking physical activity, diet, and weight. These health behaviors are essential components to evidence-based weight loss programs...

This is a viewpoint paper that aims to describe the systematic approach to the development of a technology-driven stroke rehabilitation innovation to manage disabilities following a stroke at home in India. This paper intends to sensitize public health innovators and intervention development experts about the important aspects that need to be considered to develop a culturally sensitive, patient-centered, scalable solution for stroke care using technology. Stroke has been the second-leading cause of death and the third-leading cause of disability globally for the past 3 decades...