Perception of occupational therapy care in telerehabilitation modality in patients treated in the occupational therapy section of Hospital del Trabajador, Santiago de Chile

Abstract

Hospital del Trabajador is part of the biggest workers compensation system in Chile, it provides care for workers who suffered job related accidents or occupational diseases. Occupational Therapy delivers rehabilitation interventions through a comprehensive and functional perspective in order to facilitate personal autonomy, job reintegration and social participation of its users.

Prior to this contingency, services were delivered 100% on site, but with the arrival of COVID-19, the mobility of people was limited through the implementation of quarantines, preventing or hindering participation in face-to-face treatment sessions. To guarantee the continuity of the treatments, a care protocol was designed with a tele-rehabilitation system, where each area designed activities that were possible to be replicated at the users' homes.

Given how untimely and fast these changes happened, it was considered important to carry out a self-evaluation within the occupational therapy team three months after implementing the system, carrying out a descriptive study that seeks to know the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the system.

The main conclusions show that this modality is highly beneficial to maintain the continuity of treatment at home, being even more productive when combined with face-to-face activities, where tele-rehabilitation modality reinforce activities carried out directly. The main disadvantage is the need for the user to have access and use of technology that allows daily connection or, otherwise, to have supportive networks to facilitate the process.