The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of remote interventions under the constructs: usability, adherence, safety, acceptability, customization and implementation, in order to identify the gaps and challenges for the application of telephysiotherapy via videoconference in community-dwelling older adults.
Searches were conducted in nine databases: MEDLINE/PubMed, LILACS, Scopus, Scielo, PEDRo, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science in March 2022 to conduct a scoping review on the same topic. For the present study, only feasibility studies, published in English, Portuguese or Spanish, that met the inclusion criteria were selected: people aged 60 years or older, living in the community, and who received telephysiotherapy via videoconference.
The search returned 12.500 articles, of which 203 were included for the scoping review. Of this total, 21 studies were feasibility studies and were analyzed in detail in the present study. Only 7 studies addressed 100% of the constructs of interest. The usability construct was the least evaluated, being present in 47% of the included studies, followed by safety (66%), adherence (67%), customization (71%), implementation (90%) and acceptability (90%). Among those who evaluated usability, 90% considered the intervention feasible and 10% concluded that improvements in infrastructure and technological support would be necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the program. All interventions were considered safe, with no occurrence of serious adverse effects and adherence was classified as good to excellent in 89% of the studies. Only 16% found low satisfaction, due to the lack of personal contact, technological problems and health problems of the participants. Among the strategies adopted to customize the interventions, individual adjustment of the intensity of the exercises and home visits stood out. As for the implementation of the interventions, the most frequent actions were training of physiotherapists, written instructions to the participants and in-person technical support.
Telephysiotherapy applied via videoconference in older patients was considered feasible in most studies, but it is important that future studies include evaluation methods and greater detail on the usability of the technology and safety of the interventions, allowing the identification of specific needs of the older population. Individualized strategies for personalizing and implementing interventions can positively impact the adherence and acceptability of telephysiotherapy.
The present study can contribute to the planning of remote interventions and favor the safe and effective expansion of this new approach.
Older adults
Videoconference
