Use of Technology in the Rehabilitation Setting: Therapy Observations, Mixed Methods Analysis, and Data Visualization

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Clinical Practice
• Health Technology Assessment

Background:

• Rehabilitation technology (RT) holds potential for improving patient outcomes.
• Understanding real-world RT utilization is crucial for optimizing its development and adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the actual use of rehabilitation technology in clinical settings.
• To identify factors influencing RT adoption and inform future RT design.

Main Methods:

• A convergent, mixed-methods study was conducted in ten neurorehabilitation units.
• Observations, semistructured templates, and content analysis were used to document RT use by 178 occupational and physical therapists.
• Data collected included device characteristics, setup and use times, and clinician behaviors.

Main Results:

• Ninety distinct RT devices were inventoried, but only 42% were observed in use.
• RT was predominantly used for interventions (72%) rather than measurement (28%).
• Commonly used intervention RT focused on balance/gait, strength/endurance, and transfer/mobility; measurement RT primarily tracked vital signs.

Conclusions:

• A significant portion of available RT, especially measurement devices, was underutilized in a tech-friendly environment.
• The characteristics of used RT and observed therapist behaviors offer insights for improving future RT design and clinical integration.
• An interactive data visualization tool is provided to explore the dataset further.