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NEUROLOGICAL REHABILITATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: WHAT CHANGES AND WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT
Neuroepidemiology ; 56(SUPPL 1):32, 2022.
Article in English | EMBASE | ID: covidwho-1812731
ABSTRACT
The COVID19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges towards the delivery of neuro-rehabilitation services across the globe. A nation-wide lockdown made the accessibility to neuro-rehab facilities especially difficult for people with disabilities. Since there was not much data available on practices of neuro rehab during the COVID-19 pandemic, a cross sectional observational study was conducted to evaluate the changes in neuro rehabilitation practices in India during this pandemic using an online survey. The pandemic affected the people with disabilities in not merely the physical domains but also social effects, participation restriction and psychological effects and yet majority of both hospital and home-based physiotherapists reported a decrease in referrals and number of therapy sessions provided to the patients. Tele-rehabilitation has emerged as a new model of rehabilitation for delivery of neuro rehabilitation. It offers an alternate way of facilitating communication between the rehab professional and the patient. This includes strategies like low cost virtual reality gaming for rehab in children, mobile based rehab, etc. However, the shift to telerehab provides a tremendous learning opportunity and a huge scope for innovation in improving its accessibility to the community, especially in LMICs. Majority of both Hospital and Home-based Physiotherapists reported a decrease in referrals and number of therapy sessions provided to the patients. Despite evidence on the need for physiotherapy for respiratory care, most respondents did not implement the same. No protocols/guidelines for therapy delivery were implemented or used by our sample of respondents. This paper highlights the needs under three main categories, (1) Development and implementation of suitable clinical-practice-guidelines, clinical-monitoring systems for Neurological Physiotherapy, (2) incorporation of evidence-based respiratory care as part of neurological physiotherapy especially during such pandemics, (3) changes in policies at government and private sectors for inclusion and appropriate implementation of neurophysiotherapy along with public awareness programmes on the need for continued physiotherapy.
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Collection: Databases of international organizations Database: EMBASE Language: English Journal: Neuroepidemiology Year: 2022 Document Type: Article

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Collection: Databases of international organizations Database: EMBASE Language: English Journal: Neuroepidemiology Year: 2022 Document Type: Article