Background Patients recovering from a variety of wrist injuries are frequently advised to exercise to regain lost wrist and hand function. Treatment regimens to regain motion in the wrist are highly variable, and adherence to exercise protocols is known to be low. A serious game ReValidate! incorporating standardized exercise regimens was developed to motivate patients. In this study, the game is evaluated regarding its face validity and content validity.
Methods In this cross-sectional study, a mixed group of “users” (n = 53) including patients currently recovering from wrist injury, and a mixed group of “experts” (n = 46) including professionals advising patients on therapy regimen after wrist injury played at least one complete level of the serious game. Players evaluated the game by means of a structured questionnaire regarding its content, clinical applicability, and user experience. Questions were answered on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
Results All groups valued the game as being able to support wrist rehabilitation and being of use to patients recovering from a distal radius fracture (users: median 4, P25–P75 3–4 vs. experts: median 4, P25–P75 3.50–5; p = not significant). The types of exercises performed during the game were considered to be both realistic and complete compared with regular physiotherapy exercises (users: median 4, P25–P75 3–4 vs. experts: median 4, P25–P75 3–5, p = not significant).
Conclusions The ReValidate! serious game can be regarded as a valid tool for patients to regain their wrist function after injury.
Level of evidence This is a Level II study.
Background
Video consultation (VC) has been scaled up at our academic centre attempting to facilitate and accommodate patient-provider interaction in times of social distancing during the recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Objectives
This study evaluates qualitative outcomes with data insights from the electronic health record, to contrast satisfaction outcomes with the actual use of VC.
Methods
Healthcare providers and patients using VC during the COVID-19 pandemic at a large academic centre in the Netherlands were surveyed for user satisfaction and experiences with VC. In addition, quantitative technical assessment was performed using data related to VC from the EHR record.
Results
In total, 1,027/4,443 patients and 87/166 healthcare providers completed their online questionnaire. Users rated the use of VC during a pandemic with an average score of 8.3/10 and 7.6/10 respectively. Both groups believed the use of VC was a good solution to continue the provision of healthcare during this pandemic. The use of VC increased from 92 in March 2020 to 837 in April 2020.
Conclusion
This study strongly signals that VC is an important modality in futureproofing outpatient care during and beyond pandemic times. Further development in end-user technology is needed for EHR integrated VC solutions. Guidelines needs to be developed advising both patients and healthcare providers. Such guidelines should not solely focus on technical implementation and troubleshooting, but must also consider important aspects such as digital health literacy, patient and provider authentication, privacy and ethics.
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