Page 39 - Petelin, Ana, ur. 2021. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Zbornik povzetkov z recenzijo / Book of Abstracts. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press
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ote physiotherapy in elderly center during epidemic: fizioterapija in zdravje starejših odraslih | physiotherapy and health of the elderly
a pilot study
Dea Salamon, Matej Voglar
University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, Izola, Slovenia
Introduction. In the Centers for the Elderly (CE), the main prevention for spread
of SARS-CoV-2 infection was based on social distancing. As a result, group re-
habilitation was limited, where several users were treated at the same time.
This presented a challenge to address the needs of all the current users. For
this reason, we wanted to use remote physiotherapy (TELE-FT) to determine
whether we can maintain the same number of physiotherapy services (PS) as
with the standard (contact) FT. The purpose was also to determine whether
users are satisfied with TELE-FT.
Methods: The study included 60 patients from CE in Lucija who were divided
into four groups according to the level of care (care 1- Fully independent users,
care 2 - Independent users requiring assistance (bathing), care 3- Non-inde-
pendent users / immobile, care 4 - Users with signs of dementia). After a pre-
liminary examination, the users were assigned with PS according to the needs
of the individual (group exercises, individual exercises, electrotherapy, etc.).
We compared the number of PS provided during the implementation of the
standard FT and TELE-FT. TELE-FT was performed via real-time video link in-
structions. The results were also compared according to the level of care of the
subjects. We additionally assessed user satisfaction with TELE-FT (ratings from
1-5)). Two-way analysis of variance for repeated measurements (RM ANOVA)
was used for statistical comparison of groups. Whether the satisfaction level is
related to the FS decline was examined by the Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
Results: The results of RM ANOVA showed a statistically significant effect on
the »Level of care« (F = 4.01, p = 0.015) and as expected on the »PS« (F =
92.039, p <0.001). Further comparison between groups of subjects with differ-
ent levels of care showed a significant difference in the number of treatments
performed only between Level of Care 2 and Level of Care 3. The level of sat-
isfaction was positively related to the share of performed treatments in TELE-
FT form (r = 0.406, p = 0.002), with the decrease in the number of treatments
explaining only 16.45% of the variance of satisfaction with TELE-FT.
Discussion and conclusion: Reviewing the number of individual PS performed,
the smallest decline is seen in services such as group exercises, individual exer-
cises and respiratory physiotherapy, especially in patients who are in the first
level of care i.e. independent. These services are crucial in the rehabilitation
of elderly population, so we concluded that with TELE-FT we could motivate
them to exercise more regularly. The level of patient satisfaction with TELE-FT
was positively correlated with the number of treatments performed. TELE-FT
is an acceptable form of treatment during the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, especial-
ly in the independent elderly.
Keywords: elderly, TELE-FT, standard physiotherapy, level of care
37
a pilot study
Dea Salamon, Matej Voglar
University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, Izola, Slovenia
Introduction. In the Centers for the Elderly (CE), the main prevention for spread
of SARS-CoV-2 infection was based on social distancing. As a result, group re-
habilitation was limited, where several users were treated at the same time.
This presented a challenge to address the needs of all the current users. For
this reason, we wanted to use remote physiotherapy (TELE-FT) to determine
whether we can maintain the same number of physiotherapy services (PS) as
with the standard (contact) FT. The purpose was also to determine whether
users are satisfied with TELE-FT.
Methods: The study included 60 patients from CE in Lucija who were divided
into four groups according to the level of care (care 1- Fully independent users,
care 2 - Independent users requiring assistance (bathing), care 3- Non-inde-
pendent users / immobile, care 4 - Users with signs of dementia). After a pre-
liminary examination, the users were assigned with PS according to the needs
of the individual (group exercises, individual exercises, electrotherapy, etc.).
We compared the number of PS provided during the implementation of the
standard FT and TELE-FT. TELE-FT was performed via real-time video link in-
structions. The results were also compared according to the level of care of the
subjects. We additionally assessed user satisfaction with TELE-FT (ratings from
1-5)). Two-way analysis of variance for repeated measurements (RM ANOVA)
was used for statistical comparison of groups. Whether the satisfaction level is
related to the FS decline was examined by the Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
Results: The results of RM ANOVA showed a statistically significant effect on
the »Level of care« (F = 4.01, p = 0.015) and as expected on the »PS« (F =
92.039, p <0.001). Further comparison between groups of subjects with differ-
ent levels of care showed a significant difference in the number of treatments
performed only between Level of Care 2 and Level of Care 3. The level of sat-
isfaction was positively related to the share of performed treatments in TELE-
FT form (r = 0.406, p = 0.002), with the decrease in the number of treatments
explaining only 16.45% of the variance of satisfaction with TELE-FT.
Discussion and conclusion: Reviewing the number of individual PS performed,
the smallest decline is seen in services such as group exercises, individual exer-
cises and respiratory physiotherapy, especially in patients who are in the first
level of care i.e. independent. These services are crucial in the rehabilitation
of elderly population, so we concluded that with TELE-FT we could motivate
them to exercise more regularly. The level of patient satisfaction with TELE-FT
was positively correlated with the number of treatments performed. TELE-FT
is an acceptable form of treatment during the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, especial-
ly in the independent elderly.
Keywords: elderly, TELE-FT, standard physiotherapy, level of care
37
