Requirements for home-based upper extremity rehabilitation using wearable motion sensors for stroke patients: a user-centred approach.
A J Langerak, G R H Regterschot, R W Selles and 5 others
PMID 36905631WHAT IT FOUND
For sub-acute stroke home rehab, patients and therapists prioritised real-time feedback, personalised goals, weekly therapist contact, and easy independent use.
Key findings
01Patients and therapists required real-time feedback on the quantity and quality of upper-limb movement during exercises.
02They prioritised blended care with at least two live consultations, remote contact at least once a week, and a therapist interface for remote evaluation.
03The system required seventeen exercises, including twelve movement-component exercises and five functional combinations, with must-have measures of repetitions, resting time between repetitions, number of sets and resting time between sets.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study defined what users wanted, not whether a wearable system improves upper-limb recovery. Participants were selected purposively, and all patients needed to lift the affected arm against gravity, so the requirements may not fit more severe impairment. The literature search was pragmatic: one researcher searched one database with a limited number of terms. The interview and focus group data were not analysed with a full qualitative software-supported thematic analysis. The verification sample was limited to Dutch stroke patients and therapists, so generalisability may be limited. The number of therapist participants is not fully clear: the text reports 6 focus groups and 2 verification focus groups, while Table 1 lists 7 and 5 participants.
Declared interests
This work was supported by the Dutch Heart Foundation, NWO and ZonMw, the Netherlands, under Grant [104021001]. The supplied text does not report author conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these requirements as proof that wearable sensor home rehabilitation works. The study reported what patients and therapists wanted in a system, but it did not test a system or measure patient outcomes.