The Impact of an Application of TelerehabilitationTechnology on Caregiver Burden

Abstract

Abstr actThe objective of this research was to assess the effects of an application of telerehabilitation reducing time and financial obligation on caregiver burden among eleven caregivers of elderly persons with Parkinson's disease. Clients (care receivers) participated in speech therapy delivered via videophones in their homes; the protocol required 16 treatments delivered four times a week for four weeks. At the conclusion of treatment, caregivers completed a structured interview about the impact of telerehabilitation on time and financial aspects of the burden of care. On average, this speech therapy protocol delivered by videophones saved 48 hours of time, more than 92 hours of work time, and $1024 for each caregiver. Savings were significant and previous research demonstrated nearly equal outcomes using the videophone delivery method. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Technology‐enabled management of communication and swallowing disorders in Parkinson's disease: a systematic scoping review

“…). Sixteen of the studies involved quantitative methodologies with only one study using a qualitative design (Tindall and Huebner ). The research emanated from five countries: Australia (9), United States (5), the Netherlands (1), Brazil (1) and the UK (1).…”

“…More than 80% of the 40 participants expressed comfort with the telerehabilitation assessment, 90–100% believed in the value of this mode of assessment, and 55% expressed an ultimate preference for online assessment. Tindall and Huebner () sought to determine the impact of speech treatment via videophones (Tindall et al . ) on time and financial aspects of caregiver burden.…”

“…The 17 studies included in the review consisted of 15 peer-reviewed published papers, one conference presentation and one thesis (table 1). Fifteen of the studies involved management of communication and swallowing disorders associated with PD, and two studies related to the perspectives of people with PD (Sharma et al 2013) and caregivers (Tindall and Huebner 2009). Of the 17 studies, two were non-inferiority randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (level II) (NHMRC 2009); three were pseudo-RCTs (level III-1); one involved a non-randomized concurrent control comparative study (level III-2); three were non-randomized comparative studies using historical controls, and one involved comparison with expert ratings (level III-3); five studies were case series (level IV); and two were single case studies.…”

Assessment and Treatment of Cognition and Communication Skills in Adults With Acquired Brain Injury via Telepractice: A Systematic Review

“…Telepractice is an ideal service delivery method for maintaining treatment along the continuum because it can occur in any setting that has adequate technological resources and technical support. Preliminary cost analyses (Tindall & Huebner, 2009;Tindall, Huebner, Stemple, & Kleinert, 2008) and cost-effectiveness studies (Hicks, Fleming, & Desaulnier, 2009) across service delivery methods suggest that telepractice may be a more financially viable option, yet additional research is needed to fully evaluate the economic impact of telepractice (Theodoros, 2011). Cost savings was among the potential benefits of telepractice reported by one study participant (Turkstra et al, 2012) in this EBSR.…”

Mobile Systems as a Challenge for Neurological Diseases Management – The Case of Parkinson's Disease

“…Some groups are also committed to use electromyogram (EMG) or voice analysis (Kimura et al, 2007). Additionally, in the literature there are examples of remote monitoring and patient management for PD (Tindall & Huebner, 2009), as well as the use of telematic services to facilitate the performance of motor tests remotely (Das, 2010;Dorsey et al, 2010;. Even though many advances have been done in the last years, it must be said that there is still a lack of an all-inclusive system able to provide reliable assessment of the status of PD patients being at the same time economically affordable.…”