Perspectives of physiotherapists in the city of Kigali on the use of wearable devices in stroke rehabilitation

Abstract

Stroke is the second cause of death and morbidity and the third cause of disability worldwide. The overall burden of post-stroke disability is currently challenging to estimate, even if stroke deaths are intrinsically simple to quantify. Stroke rates are greater in LMICs than in high-income countries and this is rising. Rehabilitation helps stroke patients regain their lost mobility, speech, and cognitive abilities. Although it is unclear whether delivery methods are most effective for LMICs, it is anticipated that community or home-based therapies and telerehabilitation could be promising. The integration of wearable technology in stroke rehabilitation enables ongoing tracking of patients' movements and offers physiotherapists and patients real-time feedback. The present research aims to explore the perspectives of physiotherapists working in the City of Kigali's health facilities, on the use of wearable devices for assessment and monitoring stroke patients during rehabilitation. The in-depth interview has been used to collect data related to the three objectives of the study which are: (1) To explore the awareness of wearable devices for stroke rehabilitation among physiotherapists in the City of Kigali, (2) To explore the attitudes of physiotherapists in the City of Kigali to the use of wearable devices in stroke rehabilitation and (3)To investigate the challenges perceived by physiotherapists in the City of Kigali to the use of wearable devices in stroke rehabilitation. Interviews have been conducted with 10 physiotherapists from Kibagabaga DH, CHUK, and KFH. After the transcription of all recorded interviews, thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcriptions. The analysis revealed three themes related to the pre-determined specific objectives. The study pointed to the existing gap in the physical rehabilitation of post-stroke patients and guided the central level (Ministry of Health and Rwanda Biomedical Centre) and health facilities on what to take into consideration to introduce this emerging technology in Kigali's health facilities for improving the rehabilitation services delivered to post-stroke patients.