Authors (including presenting author) :
Fan HUS(1), Tse YWE(2), Tang LM(1), Chan PSA(1), Au KMB(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Occupational Therapy Department, Tai Po Hospital
(2)Occupational Therapy Department, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital
Introduction :
The upper limb and hand function recovery after stroke depends on intensive and repetitive training of the hemiplegic limb. With the development of the HA Go app, telerehabilitation can be promoted to facilitate home-based training which helps enhancing the treatment effectiveness.
Objectives :
To compare the effect of home-based telerehabilitation for hand function training using HA Go app in patients with stroke according to their compliance rate.
Methodology :
Stroke patients attended in Tai Po Hospital Geriatric Day Hospital and Rehabilitation Center with initial hand function level≥ 4 as measured by the Functional Test of the Hemiplegic Upper Extremity (FTHUE) were included and invited to install HA Go app for home-based hand function training supplementary with conventional occupational therapy. The outcome measures included the Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT), the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) Scale which examined finger dexterity, ADL and IADL performance respectively. The outcome measures of those who complied with treatment using HA GO was compared with those who are non-compliant.
Result & Outcome :
14 patients (mean± SD age= 62.1±11.6) were recruited in the treatment group receiving home-based telerehabilitation of hand function training using HA GO app in addition to conventional therapy while 13 patients (mean± SD age= 70.2±12.6) non-compliant to HA GO app were recruited in the control group. Among the treatment group, the mean hand function training sessions using HA Go was 35.6 with a standard deviation of 27.3. Both treatment and control group showed significant improvement (p< 0.05) in all clinical outcomes. The mean difference of NHPT on admission and discharge was -14.3 in the treatment group while that of the control group was -10.3. There was an increase of 38.8% in improvement when compared to the control group. There was an increase of 66.1% in the mean difference of MBI in the treatment group on admission and discharge when compared to the control group (treatment group mean difference= 9.8; control group mean difference= 5.9). The mean difference of Lawton IADL Scale on admission and discharge was 5.1 in the treatment group while that of the control group was 4.5. There was an increase of 13.3% in the treatment group when compared to the control group. Additional home-based telerehabilitation of hand function training using HA Go app supplementary with conventional treatment was effective in achieving better hand function and functional recovery in stroke patients.
