Telehealth in physical therapy: level of adherence among physical therapists and barriers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT Telehealth in physical therapy was only authorized in Brazil after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, thus requiring rapid technological adaptations to guarantee the provision and accessibility of telemedicine services. Therefore, there was no time for anticipation and preparation for conducting this modality of service. This study aimed to investigate the level of adherence and the barriers faced by Brazilian physical therapists in coping with the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic concerning telemedicine services. This is a cross-sectional study designed to reach the largest possible number of participants and, for this, an online survey questionnaire was applied using the SurveyMonkey platform. Among the 245 physical therapists included in the study, the level of adherence to telemedicine services was 63.3% (n=155). Regarding the different telemedicine modalities, teleconsultation, telemonitoring, and teleconsulting presented levels of adherence of 74.8% (n=116), 71% (n=110), and 23.9% (n=37), respectively. The most frequently reported barriers included difficulties related to the internet connection (38.1%; n=59), technology-related issues (29.7%; n=46), and the lack of compatibility within Physical Therapy (25.8%; n=40). Therefore, the level of adherence to telemedicine services by Brazilian physical therapists in facing the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was high, and the main barriers faced included difficulties related to the internet connection and technology-related issues.