Development and integration of telerehabilitation into service delivery and clinical training: A South African case study

Excerpt

Background: The impact of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) on the health system led to many challenges to the clinical training of health sciences, including rehabilitation students in South Africa. Educational stakeholders were compelled to be adaptable and unlock and develop alternative COVID-19 safe and innovative clinical training methods during and beyond the pandemic. The Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Stellenbosch University (SUN), Stellenbosch, South Africa, considered telerehabilitation as a new method of clinical training for senior rehabilitation students.

Aim: The aim of this study was to focus on an interdisciplinary collaborative, co-development process to integrate telerehabilitation into the clinical training of Stellenbosch University undergraduate rehabilitation students on the clinical training platform during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: In this chapter, we describe the method and steps that were followed to ascertain if and how telerehabilitation could be introduced on the clinical platform for students, supported by clinical staff and educators. We established a telerehabilitation coordinating team to manage the initiative. We conducted a rapid narrative review to determine the key considerations of core knowledge and skills needed for a successful implementation of telerehabilitation. Simultaneously, we consulted national and international experts for guidance on how they approached the integration of telerehabilitation into clinical training as well as key contextual considerations linked to their local setting.

Findings: The rapid narrative review and expert consultations guided the proposed model for the integration of telerehabilitation services through the development of a contextual training module, readiness assessment, establishment of a designated facility/hub and use of a hybrid model and a phased approach for the implementation of telerehabilitation on clinical sites through pilot studies.

Conclusion: We recommend the integration of telerehabilitation into clinical training. However, experts’ opinions on key core knowledge and skills needed and the local contextual factors that might influence its adoption and implementation should be considered during the training. Approaching telerehabilitation training and integration in this way would provide guidelines for contextually relevant and sustainable telerehabilitation services across all clinical platforms.