Healthcare practitioners and robotic-assisted rehabilitation: understanding needs and barriers.
Giovanna Nicora, Enea Parimbelli, Maria Cristina Mauro and 9 others
PMID 40205389WHAT IT FOUND
Most Italian rehabilitation professionals are unaware of robotic devices, with 40% knowing none at all.
Those who use them report high satisfaction, but lack of training, space, and scientific evidence remain major barriers. Hands-on experience drives positive attitudes.
Key findings
0140% of surveyed healthcare professionals do not know any of the robotic devices used in rehabilitation.
02Lack of financial resources, training opportunities, and scientific evidence are the primary barriers perceived by users of robotic rehabilitation devices.
03Actual usage of a device is strongly associated with more positive attitudes towards it across five of eight device categories.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is a survey of opinions and awareness, not an evaluation of clinical outcomes or efficacy. The sample is limited to Italy, so barriers related to funding and regulation may not apply to other countries. Respondents were recruited through professional networks and project partners, which may introduce selection bias towards those already interested in robotics. The proportion of occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists was very low (6% and ~2% respectively), so findings cannot be reliably applied to these disciplines. Free-text comments were provided by only 6.6% of respondents, limiting the depth of qualitative insight.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the Italian Fit4MedRob Initiative. The authors acknowledge that respondents working for project partners showed more positive attitudes, suggesting potential bias, though they argue anonymity mitigated this.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret high satisfaction among users as evidence that robotic devices improve patient outcomes. The study reports attitudes and barriers, not clinical efficacy, and most professionals surveyed were unaware of the devices.