Telerehabilitation in stroke services
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Delivering telerehabilitation in stroke services; Therapists experience within Northern Ireland
IRAS ID
288896
Contact name
Jacquie Newell
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Northern Health and Social Care Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 0 days
Research summary
Timely access to stroke rehabilitation is a key factor in improving outcomes, promoting independence and increasing quality of life for people who have survived a stroke. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, stroke services have had to consider how to provide this rehabilitation in a safe yet effective manner to facilitate ongoing post-stroke care. Telerehabilitation offers one such solution through the provision of remote services to patients using information and communication technologies (Brennan 2009). Recent research (Lever 2020) has suggested that it is a reasonable model of service delivery for people post-stroke, with improvements noted in a range of outcomes including physical functioning and mood.Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, telerehabilitation services were not routinely offered as part of the stroke care pathway within the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. However, with the increased risk of COVID-19 infection and the need to restrict social contact, the community stroke staff were required to find alternative ways to deliver stroke services using telerehabilitation. This is a new way of working for most therapists and knowledge, experience and confidence varied across the staff group.
It is planned that by investigating the use, enablers and barriers of telerehabilitation in stroke services within the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, services can be better informed and designed to implement telerehabilitation in the future. As a result this has the potential to improve overall stroke care within the Trust, increase access to services and the potential to reduce overall service delivery cost.REC name
London - Chelsea Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/PR/0783
Date of REC Opinion
8 Jan 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion