Technology Assisted Rehabilitation Patient Perception Questionnaire (TARPP-Q): development and implementation of an instrument to evaluate patients' perception during training.
Cira Fundarò, Roberto Casale, Roberto Maestri and 7 others
PMID 36964543WHAT IT FOUND
A 29-item questionnaire captured how 44 inpatients experienced technology-assisted rehabilitation with exergames.
It grouped perceptions into positive attitude, usability, hindrance and distress; distress did not change after training.
Key findings
01Forty-four inpatients completed the TARPP-Q autonomously, with no unaccounted answers.
02The final questionnaire had 29 items and grouped patient experience into positive attitude, usability, hindrance perception and distress.
03After 4 weeks of technology-assisted training with exergaming, positive attitude, usability and hindrance perception improved, while distress did not change.
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 application phase included only 44 patients, and the paper describes the sample as small and mainly older. Patients were compared only before and after the same rehabilitation program, with no control group, so changes cannot be separated from usual care, the devices or the exergames. The questionnaire was developed and tested in Italian-speaking inpatients; the English version is not yet fully validated. Results apply only to fixed exoskeleton devices used in expert-led settings, not to portable or wearable technology. People with cognitive deficits, aphasia, severe visual or auditory deficits, or insufficient Italian were excluded. The study was exploratory and still needs full validation for reliability, validity and sensitivity. The two negative factors, hindrance perception and distress, need further study to clarify their difference.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the improved TARPP-Q and FIM scores as proof that the Armeo or Lokomat training caused recovery. This was a 44-patient pre-post pilot with no control group, and patients received technology-assisted upper-limb or gait training with exergames as part of their rehabilitation program.