668
B. Brouns et al.
of responders asked for in the first part of the survey, viz. age,
discipline (healthcare professionals only) and previous use of
eRehabilitation (patients and healthcare professionals only)
were also included in the analysis. Odds ratios (OR) with a
95% confidence interval (95% CI) are reported.
• As individual factors may be related to others, the factors and
responder characteristics significantly associated with wil-
lingness to use eRehabilitation were included in a multivariate
logistic regression analysis using a backward likelihood ratio
method. OR values with 95% CI are reported. An OR higher
than 1 indicates that a factor was positively associated with
willingness to use eRehabilitation, while an OR lower than
1 indicates that a factor was negatively associated with wil-
lingness to use eRehabilitation.
RESULTS
Participant characteristics
The survey was completed by 125 of the 368 (34%)
invited patients, 43 informal caregivers (response rate
unknown) and 102 of the 288 (37%) invited healthcare
professionals (Fig. 2). Reasons for non-response were
not verified, except for 30 (10%) healthcare profes-
sionals that did not complete the survey because they
were not working with stroke patients.
Respondent characteristics for the patients, informal
caregivers and healthcare professionals were as fol-
lows: mean age was 58.2 years (SD 11.4), 58.4 years
(SD 12.0) and 41.9 years (SD 10.5), respectively; and
72 (58%), 16 (37%) and 25 (24%), respectively, were
male (Table I). Age and sex did not differ between the
responders and the sample of 2,700 patients eligible
for this study. Mean time since stroke was 30.6 months
(SD 29.2). Most patients (n = 113, 90%) and informal
caregivers (n = 41, 95%) used electronic devices such
Invited professionals to participate
(n=362)
Invited patients/caregivers to
participate (n=400) Professionals:
No valid email address (n=10)
Absent (n=34)
No involvement in stroke (n=30)
Invited professionals (n=288) Patients:
No valid email address (n=32)
Characteristics
Age, years, mean (SD)
Sex, male, n (%)
Time since stroke, months, mean
(SD)
Living status, living alone, n (%)
Employment, with a paid job, n (%)
Self-perceived impairments a , yes,
n (%)
Cognitive impairments
Physical impairments
Aphasia
Use of digital devices in daily life a ,
yes, n (%)
Patients
(n = 125) Informal
caregivers
(n = 43) 58.2 (11.4)
72 (58) 58.4 (12.0) 41.9 (10.6)
16 (37)
25 (24)
30.6 (29.2)
22 (18)
42 (34) ns
5 (12)
21 (49) ns
81 (65)
84 (67)
48 (38) ns
ns
ns ns
ns
ns
113 (90) 41 (95) ns
(68)
(50)
(57)
(43) 33
30
30
20 ns
ns
ns
ns
(24) ns 38 (37)
ns
ns
ns 41 (39)
14 (13)
47 (45)
ns ns 9 (9)
ns ns 73 (72)
ns
ns 34 (32)
13.4 (10.0)
Use of device a , yes, n (%)
Smartphone
85
Tablet
62
Laptop
71
Computer (PC)
54
Previous use of eRehabilitation, yes,
n (%)
30
Discipline, n (%)
Physical therapist
ns
Psychologist
ns
Physician
ns
Employed at a , n (%)
Health centre in primary care b
Rehabilitation centre b,c
ns
General hospital b,c
Work experience, years, mean (SD) ns
Number of new patients per month,
mean (SD)
(77)
(70)
(70)
(47)
Healthcare
professionals
(n = 102)
7.95 (8.5)
a
Multiple answers possible; b Out-patient care; c In-patient care.
ns: not shown; SD: standard deviation; PC: personal computer.
as laptops, tablet or smartphone daily. One-quarter of
the patients (n = 30, 24%) and more than one-third of
the healthcare professionals (n = 38, 37%) had used
eRehabilitation before, and 106 (84%) patients, 38
(88%) informal caregivers and 97 (92%) healthcare
professionals reported that they were willing to use eR-
ehabilitation. Of the 102 healthcare professionals, 41
(39%) were physiotherapists, 14 (13%) psychologists
and 47 (45%) physicians. Most healthcare professio-
nals (n = 73, 72%) worked in a rehabilitation centre;
other settings included primary care (n = 9, 9%) and
hospital (n = 34, 32%).
Invited patients/caregivers (n=368)
Professionals who responded to the
questionnaire (n=129)
Patients/caregivers who responded
to the questionnaire (n=194/65)
Completed questionnaires
professionals (n=102)
Table I. Characteristics of patients, informal caregivers and
healthcare professionals participating in a survey on the use of
eRehabilitation
Completed questionnaires
patients/caregivers (n=125/43)
Fig. 2. Study inclusion flow.
www.medicaljournals.se/jrm
Professionals:
Non responders (n=159)
Patients:
Non responders (n=174)
Incomplete questionnaires
professionals (n=27)
Incomplete questionnaires
patients/informal caregivers
(n=69/22)
Descriptive statistics
The 5 most important barriers/facilitators influencing
willingness to use eRehabilitation are shown in Table
II. One facilitator appeared in the top 5 highest scoring
statements for both patients, informal caregivers and
healthcare professionals, viz. “The use of eRehabilita-
tion has a positive influence on the patient’s recovery.”
(see Table IIa). Other barriers/facilitators in the top 5
for patients and informal caregivers mostly concerned
statements belonging to the factors Advantages of use
(such as the possibilities of online information, online