EXPLORING PERCEPTIONS OF AND WILLINGNESS TO USE TELEREHABILITATION DURING THE COVID-19 AMONG PHYSIOTHERAPISTS IN MALAYSIA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an interruption of face-to-face physiotherapy service, resulting in a rapid and expansive exploration of telerehabilitation as a viable service during the pandemic. However, the efficacy of this approach of care is still unknown. This study aimed to investigate the physiotherapists' perceptions of and willingness to use telerehabilitation in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic and the barriers to effective telerehabilitation implementation. A cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire was developed via Google form and sent to the members of Malaysian Physiotherapy Association (MPA). Descriptive and chi-square tests were used for analysis. In total, 231 physiotherapists (81.05% acceptance rate) completed the questionnaire. Most participants (86%) believed that telerehabilitation is a practical approach for providing physiotherapy services to patients, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 92.8% stated that telerehabilitation has the potential to save costs and travel time. A total of 90.9% of participants were willing to deliver physiotherapy services via telerehabilitation. The results suggest that the more frequently physiotherapists used the internet at work, the more willing they were to adopt telerehabilitation systems (p= 0.016). The common barriers identified were lack of appropriate equipment training (57.2%), user-friendly software (47.6%), expensive equipment (48.5%), and patient privacy and confidentiality (47.6%). Overall, physiotherapists in Malaysia were willing to use telerehabilitation, but there was a lack of support and proper guidance for telerehabilitation practice during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The identified barrier must be addressed for effective telerehabilitation adoption.