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. 2021 Feb 18;31(2):627-636.
doi: 10.1007/s40670-021-01234-w. eCollection 2021 Apr.

Awareness, Attitude and Expectations of Physiotherapy Students on Telerehabilitation

Mbada C E  1 , Baderinwa T A  1 , Sanuade C T  1 , Ademoyegun Adekola B  2 , Clara Fatoye  3 , Laminde Maikudi  1 , Francis Fatoye  3
Affiliations

Awareness, Attitude and Expectations of Physiotherapy Students on Telerehabilitation

Mbada C E et al. Med Sci Educ. .

Abstract

Background and objective: Explosion in information technology knowledge and utilization among young people, referred to as digital natives, seems less explored in the health sector and training. This study was aimed to assess awareness, attitude and expectations of physiotherapy students on telerehabilitation.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey employed systematic probability sampling technique to recruit 200 physiotherapy students. A self-developed questionnaire which was tested for its face and content validity was used to obtain data. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Alpha level was set at p < 0.05.

Results: The mean age of the respondents was 21.2 ± 2.04 years. There was higher prevalence of moderate awareness (43%) and positive attitude towards telerehabilitation (39%). Majority of the respondents (62%) had high expectation towards future telerehabilitation products and services. There was significant association between level of awareness of telerehabilitation and age (X 2 = 7.119; p = 0.001).

Discussion: The responding students in this study are by age in the class of digital natives, who should be conversant with technology. This could account for the higher moderate level of awareness of telerehabilitation. However, the higher rates of negative attitude towards telerehabilitation could be attributed to prevailing barriers to its utilization in Nigeria. Nonetheless, a large percentage of the students had high expectations for the future of telerehabilitation.

Conclusion: Nigerian physiotherapy students have moderate awareness and high expectation for future telerehabilitation applications. However, a larger number of them hold negative attitude towards it use.

Keywords: Digital natives; Healthcare; Information communication technology; Physiotherapy; Students; Telerehabilitation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Bar graph showing socio-demographic characteristics of respondents (N = 200)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Bar graph showing multidimensional level of respondents’ awareness of telerehabilitation(N = 200)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Bar graph showing respondents’ characteristics and attitudinal type to telerehabilitation (N = 200)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Respondents’ characteristics and their level of expectation toward telerehabilitation (N = 200)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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