Audiophonologopedic Telerehabilitation: Advantages and Disadvantages from User Perspectives

TL;DR

This study explores user opinions on digital telerehabilitation for speech and neurodevelopmental disorders, highlighting benefits like time and cost savings, but also challenges like distractions and logistical issues.

Contribution

The study provides user-centered insights into the suitability of telerehabilitation for different patient groups and clinical conditions.

Findings

Users reported significant time and cost savings with telerehabilitation.

Patients with hearing loss preferred telerehabilitation, while those with speech delays and ASD favored in-person therapy.

Telerehabilitation is seen as a useful supplement but not a replacement for face-to-face therapy.

Abstract

Introduction: Technological advancements and the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance of digital tools for patient care and rehabilitation. This study explores user perspectives on telerehabilitation, comparing it to traditional methods and identifying criteria for determining its suitability for different patients and clinical conditions. Methods: This study was carried out during the period of May–September 2021. Questionnaires were administered to 48 users in rehabilitation for audiophonologopedic and neurodevelopmental disorders in three rehabilitation centres in central Italy. Results: The user responses predominantly emphasize the benefits of time saving (68.75%) and cost-efficiency (37.5%), specifically regarding time saving due to travel and expenses incurred to go to where the therapy is carried out. The disadvantages include increased distraction (60.42%) in following the instructions remotely and logistic problems (39.58%). Patients with hearing loss were subjected to a larger number of telerehabilitation sessions, positively rating this alternative method. Patients with speech and language delay and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prefer traditional treatment. Discussion: This study reveals a favourable perception of telerehabilitation as a therapy approach to be regarded as a supplement or temporary option to the irreplaceable face-to-face one. More research, as well as a larger sample sizes, will be useful to increase the significance of the correlations reported in this study.

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