Document Type : Review
Authors
1
Department of Health Information Technology, School of Paramedical Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran-Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran #They contributed equally in this study
2
Department of Health Information Technology, School of Paramedical Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran#They contributed equally in this study
3
Department of Health Information Technology, School of Paramedical Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: Sensory disabilities, including hearing or speech and vision loss, are the
second biggest contributor to rehabilitation needs in terms of the number of affected people.
Therefore, the aim of this systematic review of randomized clinical trial was to investigate the
effect of telerehabilitation on people with sensory disabilities, including hearing, speech and
visual impairments.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted in a randomized controlled trial (RCT), pilot,
and protocols for RCT studies without time limit by searching for keywords in the title,
abstract and study keywords in valid scientific databases Embase, Web of Science, Scopus,
and PubMed on October 23, 2021. We followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for
Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines.
Results: In total, 1080 documents were initially retrieved through scientific database
searching. Finally, 8 eligible studies were found through this review. The quality assessment
results showed that there was no significant bias in the studies and all quality studies were
included. The sample sizes in the studies ranged from 21 to 203 participants. Follow-up
periods ranged from 6 weeks to 12 months. Of the 8 included studies, 4 were experimental
and did not provide definitive results. However, in 4 studies, patients reported improvements
in hearing, speech, mental status, quality of life, and self-care skills.
Conclusion: The results of the present systematic review revealed that using telerehabilitation
improves the provision of rehabilitation services in patients with sensory disabilities (hearing,
speech, and visual impairment). Hence, telerehabilitation is a safe, effective, and feasible tool
for providing telerehabilitation services.
Keywords
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