Authors (including presenting author) :
Chan YW, Ho MW
Affiliation :
Department of Occupational Therapy, Pok Oi Hospital
Keyword 1: :
telehealth stroke education
Keyword 2: :
illness adaptation strategies
Keyword 3: :
Motor Activity Log
Keyword 4: :
clarity and accessibility
Keyword 5: :
home-based approach
Keyword 6: :
tailored upper limb rehabilitation
Introduction :
Stroke frequently results in upper limb (UL) impairment, leading to functional decline, learnt non-use of the affected limb, and adjustment difficulties. Telehealth offers a promising home-based approach for delivering stroke education, enhancing illness adaptation, and providing tailored upper limb rehabilitation programmes to promote functional recovery and increase affected limb utilisation (Bartoli et al., 2024; Tchero et al., 2018).
Objectives :
This pilot study aimed to evaluate the impact of therapist-delivered telehealth on UL function in stroke survivors and their satisfaction with telehealth.
Methodology :
Five stroke survivors (mean age 40 years; mean time since stroke onset 4.4 years; stroke types: three ischaemic, two haemorrhagic; hemiparesis distribution: two right, three left) participated in this single-group pre-post pilot study. The intervention comprised therapist-designed telehealth sessions delivering stroke education, illness adaptation strategies, and individualised home-based upper limb exercises. Primary outcomes were measured using the Functional Test for the Hemiplegic Upper Extremity (FTHUE) and the Motor Activity Log (MAL), specifically Amount of Use (AOU) and Quality of Movement (QOM). Due to the small sample size, data were analysed descriptively and with non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank testing for paired comparisons.
Result & Outcome :
Post-intervention, MAL-AOU scores improved from a mean of 0.65 (SD 1.07) to 1.11 (SD 1.04) (p=0.313). Participants reported an increase in the use of the affected UL in self-care tasks. MAL-QOM scores from 0.7 to 1.6 ( p =0.063) presented smoother and more controlled UL movement. Overall, survivors had better adaptation to their condition.
Post-training FTHUE assessment showed that one patient progressed from 3/7 to 4/7, while four survivors maintained stable 4/7 function. This demonstrated clinical stability with a meaningful gain. The satisfaction survey showed 80% reported significantly enhanced stroke rehabilitation knowledge; 100% agreed information was clear and supportive of their recovery journey, with all recommending telehealth to other survivors. These metrics demonstrate telehealth’s efficacy in delivering occupational therapy with clarity and accessibility, validating stroke survivors’ strong acceptance of this innovative service model for scalable implementation. This pilot telerehabilitation study demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in MAL and high patient satisfaction despite statistically non-significant results due to limited sample size. The intervention showed feasibility and acceptability among stroke survivors. Larger randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm efficacy and establish generalisability.
