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A. Rocha1,2, C. Alexandre1, S. Jorge1, S. Santos1, R. Oliveira3
1Aveiro University, School of Health Sciences (ESSUA), Aveiro, Portugal, 2Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, Serviço de Fisiatria, Porto, Portugal, 3Human Kinetics Faculty, CIPER, Lisboa, Portugal
Background: Telerehabilitation refers to the delivery of rehabilitation services using telecommunication technologies, including assessment, intervention, education, and therapeutic interventions for individuals/patients. Telerehabilitation promotes flexibility, accessibility, and versatility. Physical therapists work with pediatric populations and their families to assist each child in reaching their maximum potential to function independently and to promote participation in home, school, and community environments.
Purpose: The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the effects of telerehabilitation (focusing on physiotherapy) applied to pediatric population.
Methods: A systematic search was performed at Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science databases, limiting the studies to English language, published since January 2010. Studies were eligible if they were observational studies, prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional studies, randomized controlled trials or controlled clinical trials. Eligible studies had an intervention consisting of physiotherapy and telerehabilitation and were applied to pediatric population, aged between 0 to 18 years.
Results: 377 were identified and 6 were included. Beneficial effects of telerehabilitation in pediatric populations were found in tests of lower limb functional strength, motor and processing skills, activities of daily living, physical ability, visual acuity, motor behavior, and home management of respiratory exacerbations. COVID-19 has allowed physical therapists to explore a viable option of providing remote services (also known as telehealth or telerehabilitation). Telerehabilitation has shown positive effects in children, on platforms such as Mitti and CareToy and in telemonitoring of respiratory exacerbations. However, some studies found that there were no significant differences between this type of intervention and usual care. Telerehabilitation played an important role during the pandemic, reducing travel and making possible the observation in context.
Conclusions: Although telerehabilitation has been shown to have positive effects, it is difficult to generalize these effects due to the heterogeneity of the studies. Several studies concern the Mittii platform, which may limit the more general conclusions.
Implications: The use of telerehabilitation during COVID 19 has shown positive effects.
Digital health will grow in the future.
This may be one useful tool for physical therapists and for families.
Digital health will grow in the future.
This may be one useful tool for physical therapists and for families.
Funding acknowledgements:
Work was unfunded.
Work was unfunded.
Keywords:
Pediatric
Telerehabilitation
Physiotherapy
Pediatric
Telerehabilitation
Physiotherapy
Topics:
Paediatrics
Innovative technology: information management, big data and artificial intelligence
Paediatrics
Innovative technology: information management, big data and artificial intelligence
Did this work require ethics approval? No
Reason: Ethics approval was not required because thi7. Ethics approval [see general information point 11 below]: evidence that ethics approval was given is required. Please name the institution and ethics committee that approved your work or advised you that it was not required. Provide the ethical approval number or state the reasons why ethics approval was not required.When submitting your abstract, you will be asked "Did this work require ethics approval?". If no, you will then be asked for the institution and ethics committee that advised you that ethics approval was not required and the reasons. You will be able to upload supporting evidence.
Ethical approval is unlikely to have been required if your work:
• addresses new and unique developments in practice, theory, education, management, policy,
and resources
• describes innovative ways in which established methods have been adapted to meet the
changing needs of practice
• is a systematic or narrative review.s article is a systematic review.
https://world.physio/sites/default/files/2022-06/WP2023-call-for-abstracts-FINAL-v3.pdf
Ethical approval is unlikely to have been required if your work:
• addresses new and unique developments in practice, theory, education, management, policy,
and resources
• describes innovative ways in which established methods have been adapted to meet the
changing needs of practice
• is a systematic or narrative review.s article is a systematic review.
https://world.physio/sites/
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
