Jobke Wentzel*, University of Twente, enschede, Netherlands Annelies Van Dam, university of twente, enschede, Netherlands Jesper Brons, University of twente, enschede, Netherlands Lisette Vangemert-pijnen, University of twente, enschede, Netherlands Track: Research Presentation Topic: e-Coaching Presentation Type: Poster presentation Submission Type: Single Presentation Building: MECC Room: Trajectum Last modified: 2010-09-01

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Background: Due to an increase of patients with some form of chronic disease, health care costs will rise, and availability and continuity of care are difficult to sustain at the current level. In physical therapy, this increase of patients is or will be felt too. Applying ehealth in a physical therapy setting may offer means to guide patients in a low-cost, efficient way. However, challenges exist in reaching and sustaining compliance and use.
Objective: With this review we investigate in what ways ehealth is currently applied in physical therapy settings, what the effects of these interventions are, and if there are factors that aid or obstruct a successful implementation.
Methods: Databases (Medline, Psychinfo, Pedro) were searched, as well as relevant journals. Inclusion criteria were: intervention must use eHealth, aimed at physical therapy and treatment of lower back pain, shoulder, neck, knee and back pain, COPD, asthma, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and arthrosis.
Results: A total of 31 studies were included in our review and extracted for analysis. In the presentation, we discuss the value of eHealth technologies for physical therapy and the opportunities for improving clinical outcomes, health behavior outcomes and care coordination (cost savings). Also we present the critical issues for design and implementation of eHealth technologies.
Preliminary findings: eHealth is applied scarcely in physical therapy settings. Most interventions focus on (multidisciplinary) monitoring/guidance of chronic care patients, or outpatient rehabilitation (after cardiac surgery, for example). Reported results focus mainly on costs, care utilization, clinical/health outcomes, and self care management. Use (adherence) and satisfaction receive suboptimal attention
Conclusion: Although eHealth can be seen as promising for physical therapy, research should focus more on designing interventions tailored to primary care physical therapy settings, aimed at adherence. Such interventions need to be tested in practice by (quasi-)experimental study designs.