Abstract
Objective
We studied the use of smartphone technology in stroke rehabilitation in Korea and gathered opinions on how it would best be utilized it in a clinical setting.
Method
Physiatrists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and rehabilitation ward nurses were surveyed to examine smartphone propagation among the rehabilitation team, current therapeutic knowledge, the use of smartphone technology, and perceptions regarding the potential therapeutic use of smartphones in rehabilitation. The respondents were also asked to specify the applications considered to be the most appropriate for rehabilitation. We also examined applications available for stroke rehabilitation at Android and Apple stores.
Results
Of the respondents, 92% had never using smartphone technology in rehabilitation with their clients. The greatest barrier to use was that "smartphone technology and appropriate applications were not available for rehabilitation settings" (71.4%). Areas identified as most appropriate for smartphone use in therapy included provision of information (82.4%) and cognitive (72.5%) and language training (68.1%). We found only a few applications in android and Apple application stores. Of the respondents, 89% intended to use smartphone applications in rehabilitation in the future.
Figures and Tables
Fig. 1
Types of applications considered most appropriate in the field of stroke rehabilitation. Areas identified as most appropriate (measured as a score of 4 or more on the 5-point NRS) for smartphone use in therapy included providing information (82.4%) followed by cognitive training (72.5%) and language training (68.1%). Respondents were not confident in using it in the fields of ADL re-training (45.1%) and motor training (45.1%). NRS: Numeric rating scale (5: Extremely, 4: Very, 3: Moderately, 2: Slightly, 1: Not at all).
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