This review sheds light on telehealth and telerehabilitation services with a focus in occupational therapy practice. It summarizes clinical and research applications, benefits and impact, limitations, barriers and current needs, and recommendations for future adoption of more evidence-based occupational therapy telehealth services. Our review confirmed that telehealth is useful and can be an appropriate remote service delivery model for occupational therapy. Telehealth connects clients with occupational therapists through information and communication technologies, thereby improving easy access to services for underserved populations when in-person encounters are not possible or practical. Telerehabilitation provides occupational therapists and other healthcare professionals with flexibility to continue treating their patients while following best practices and ethical standards. Telehealth is needed nowadays more than ever and more research is recommended to further address current and future challenges and support expansion of telehealth applications in the field of rehabilitation and occupational therapy.

No abstract

No abstract

Background: Following receipt of a wheeled mobility device, outcomes can be measured using subjective (self/proxy report) or objective (performance-based observation at clinic and home) measures. These measures can be used together and can be complementary. There is currently a lack of available outcome measures related to functioning with the use of a wheelchair. In response to the need for more comprehensive outcome measures to document function for third-party payers, and evaluate the efficacy of wheeled mobility interventions, in 2001, a team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh developed the FEW (a self-report measure), the FEW-Capacity (FEW-C, a performance-based measure for the clinic), and the FEW-Performance (FEW-P, a performance-based measure for the home) outcome measurement instruments. The FEW tools have been used in research and proved to be reliable, valid, and useful. Currently, only a handful of research studies have focused on measuring level of satisfaction and functional independence for wheelchair users using their wheelchairs for everyday functional performance. Therefore, the FEW instrument was used in this study to measure self-perceived satisfaction and functional independence of wheelchair users.

Objective: This study did a thorough review of the literature and investigated the current evidence-based guidelines and information available for the incidence and prevalence, the identification of risk factors, which risk scales are valid and reliable, and examined the effectiveness and applicability of the different intervention and prevention options for the management of Pressure Ulcers (PUs) and skin breakdown in pediatric population in comparison to those found in adults literature.Results: PUs in the pediatric population has been poorly documented and has not received adequate attention in the literature compared to those in the adult population. The chronically ill children and the pediatric patient population with chronic conditions and severe neurological and sensory motor impairments such as cerebral palsy, spine bifida and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), are at significant risk for the development of PUs. A comprehensive and thorough pediatric skin care program should emphasize the need for accurate, continuous assessment, including specific and detailed documentation of tissue damage. Early assessment and detection are essential because early stage PUs is far easier and less costly to treat. Currently, there are 10 published pediatric pressure ulcer risk assessment scales. Of these scales, only the Braden Q Scale, the Neonatal Skin Risk Assessment Scale (NSRAS), and the Glamorgan Scale have been tested for sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion:Most of the current evidence-based guidelines for prevention and management of pediatric PUs have been relatively limited and are largely modifications of adult practice guidelines. Healthcare professionals should keep in mind that pediatric patients are not just small adults, but deserve unique consideration in their medical and surgical care. Therefore, further future research studies and well designed randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are needed to examine the efficacy, effectiveness, the applicability, and safety of the available prevention and treatment options for the management of PUs and skin breakdown in pediatric population.