Addressing Barriers of Tele-Rehabilitation

Overview

The impact of COVID-19 has greatly accelerated the use of telerehabilitation; however, its uptake has been inconsistent and many barriers have been identified.

This interactive case study-based workshop, focusing on the use of telerehabilitation for brain injury survivors, allows participants to develop strategies to problem-solve issues surrounding the use of telerehabilitation, leading to improved patient outcomes and optimal care.

This session was recorded at the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) Congress 2021.

Learning objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to identify:

• What are the current barriers to the use of telerehabilitation?
• What are the strategies we can use to reduce these barriers?
• Are these strategies contributing to or reducing health inequities?

The presenter bios

Jennifer Allen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Health Studies, a Master’s of Science in Physical Therapy and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Her experience includes over ten years working in public and private settings in Canada, and in private, educational, and post-disaster/post-conflict settings internationally. Her work has taken her to Mexico, Nepal, Kuwait, and Iraq. In 2016, Jen worked for the International Organization of Migration as a Physiotherapist Trainer for four months in Nepal at a rehab centre for victims of the devastating 2015 earthquakes. Jen has also been involved extensively in the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) for over twelve years in various roles including Chair and Past Chair of the Global Health Division, and as an Executive Member of the Division Chairs’ Committee. She is currently a Physiotherapist Delegate for the Emergency Response Unit of the Canadian Red Cross, and works in Alberta for the Worker’s Compensation Board and Alberta Health Services.

Lisa Sheehy is a physiotherapist who graduated from McMaster University in 1992. She has worked in hospital and private clinic settings, including in geriatric and neurological rehabilitation. She returned to school in 2004 and completed her MSc and PhD in Rehabilitation Science at Queen’s University in 2013. She has worked at Bruyère Research Institute since 2014, first as a Postdoctoral Fellow and now as a Research Associate. Her primary research area is the use of technology for rehabilitation.

Dr. Jacqueline van Ierssel is a physiotherapist and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Her research focuses on functional outcomes and clinical decision-making regarding return to sport following a concussion, and she developed the Concussion Recovery Questionnaire (CORE-Q), a concussion-specific measure of the functional capacity. She is the founder of RTP Concussion and instructs nation-wide concussion management courses. She is an expert panelist for the ONF Pediatric Concussion Guidelines and expert consultant on WSIB mTBI Program of Care Guidelines. She has been a clinical instructor at the University of Toronto and is Past Chair of the CPA's Sport Division (Sport Physiotherapy Canada), Ontario Section.