Perceptions and Willingness of Physiotherapists in India to Use Telerehabilitation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Arnold Fredrick D’Souza, Sydney Roshan Rebello
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns have restricted regular clinical physiotherapy services. This has necessitated a sudden shift to the use of telerehabilitation to prevent disruption in the delivery of physiotherapy interventions. This survey investigates the perceptions of physiotherapists in India and their willingness to use telerehabilitation during the pandemic. An electronic questionnaire was sent to 176 physiotherapists around India, and 118 completed questionnaires were received (acceptance rate of 67.04%). A majority of the respondents (n=67; 77%) had used telerehabilitation for the first time during the pandemic, and 72.9% (n=86) found telerehabilitation to be a viable option for healthcare delivery during the pandemic. Some of the barriers identified were lack of training (n=64; 52%) and a lack of connection between information and communication technology experts and clinicians (n=62; 52.5%). Overall, physiotherapists in India expressed a positive perception of telerehabilitation and are willing to use such services.