Stroke virtual rehabilitation in rural communities: exploring the perceptions of stroke survivors, caregivers, clinicians, and health administrators.

PURPOSE: Rural-dwelling stroke survivors have unmet rehabilitation needs after returning to community-living. Virtual rehabilitation, defined as the use of technology to provide rehabilitation services from a distance, could be a viable and timely solution to address this need, especially within the COVID-19 pandemic context. There is still a minimal understanding of virtual rehabilitation delivery within rural contexts. This study sought to explore the perceptions of rural stakeholders about virtual stroke rehabilitation.

METHODS: Following an interpretive description approach, 17 qualitative interviews were conducted with stroke survivors ( n  = 5), caregivers ( n  = 2), clinicians ( n  = 7), and health administrators ( n  = 3), and analyzed to understand their experiences and perceptions of virtual stroke rehabilitation.

RESULTS: We identified three overarching themes from the participant responses (1) The Root of the (Rural) Problem considered how systemic inequities impact stroke survivors' and caregivers' access to stroke recovery services; (2) Common Benefits, Different Challenges identified the unique benefits and challenges of delivering virtual rehabilitation within rural contexts; and (3) Ingredients for Success described important considerations for implementing virtual rehabilitation.

CONCLUSION: Virtual rehabilitation is generally accepted by all stakeholders as a supplement to in-person services. Addressing the unique barriers faced by rural clinicians and stroke survivors is necessary to provide successful virtual rehabilitation.