Digital physiotherapy intervention in children in a low resource setting in Anantapur (India): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Metadata
Show full item recordEditorial
Frontiers
Materia
Telerehabilitation Fracture Low resources Pediatrics Digital practice
Date
2022-09-30Referencia bibliográfica
Estebanez-Pérez M-J... [et al.] (2022) Digital physiotherapy intervention in children in a low resource setting in Anantapur (India): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Front. Public Health 10:1012369. doi: [10.3389/fpubh.2022.1012369]
Abstract
Introduction: In rural India the scarcity of physiotherapists and inequalities
complicate the recovery of traumatized children. This study protocol will
explore a digital physiotherapy intervention in children with ankle fracture in
a low-resource setting to improve functional independence and quality of life.
Methods and analysis: A randomized clinical trial with a mixed
quantitative-qualitative design will be carried out. It is a single-blind
study, where the evaluator does not know the nature of the intervention.
Sixty subjects will be enrolled and randomly divided into two groups:
the experimental group (EG) will receive a 4-week digital physiotherapy
intervention through an app in a recycled mobile device after hospital
discharge; the control group (CG) will receive the physiotherapy standard care
recommended for patients discharged from the hospital. Subjects will receive
a baseline (T0-pre) assessment of Functional Independence and Quality of
Life. At the end of the 4-week intervention (T1-post) a new assessment of the
outcome will be performed adding data on adherence, satisfaction (ad hoc
questionnaire and TSQ), and barriers of use. Qualitative outcomes will also
be explored. The author’s hypothesized that the implementation of a digital
physiotherapy intervention is feasible and effective to improve functional
independence and quality of life. This study protocol is the first to explore
the effect of digital physiotherapy intervention in children’s patients in a low
resource setting (Anantapur).
Discussion: The successful delivery of the intervention, an optimal adherence
records, the absence of significant adverse effects, user satisfaction level
and the qualitative analysis of limitations, will demonstrate the effectiveness
of these procedure. This study will add more evidence in support the use
of digital physiotherapy practice as an effective tool. User particularities,
provider’s capacity, technological and cultural limitations, and considerations
for vulnerable populations will be taken into account.