TY - JOUR
T1 - Application of Commercial Games for Home-Based Rehabilitation for People with Hemiparesis
T2 - Challenges and Lessons Learned
AU - Valdés, Bulmaro A.
AU - Glegg, Stephanie M.N.
AU - Lambert-Shirzad, Navid
AU - Schneider, Andrea N.
AU - Marr, Jonathan
AU - Bernard, Renee
AU - Lohse, Keith
AU - Hoens, Alison M.
AU - Van Der Loos, H. F.Machiel
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the participants and their families/caregivers, colleagues (Tina Hung, Nicola Hodges, Elizabeth Croft, and Alec Black), the clinical staff who supported recruitment and/or clinical assessment (Heather Branscombe, Ashea Neil, Linh Huynh, Sara Richardson, Nicole Mackay, and Kathy Cervo), co-op students (Laura Jaquez, Derek Schaper), and Reality Controls, Inc. This work was supported by the Peter Wall Solutions Initiative; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); Kids Brain Health Network; and CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología Mexico).
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2018, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
PY - 2018/6
Y1 - 2018/6
N2 - Objective: To identify the factors that influence the use of an at-home virtual rehabilitation gaming system from the perspective of therapists, engineers, and adults and adolescents with hemiparesis secondary to stroke, brain injury, and cerebral palsy. Materials and Methods: This study reports on qualitative findings from a study, involving seven adults (two female; mean age: 65 ± 8 years) and three adolescents (one female; mean age: 15 ± 2 years) with hemiparesis, evaluating the feasibility and clinical effectiveness of a home-based custom-designed virtual rehabilitation system over 2 months. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data from therapists' weekly telephone interview notes, research team documentation regarding issues raised during technical support interactions, and the transcript of a poststudy debriefing session involving research team members and collaborators. Results: Qualitative themes that emerged suggested that system use was associated with three key factors as follows: (1) the technology itself (e.g., characteristics of the games and their clinical implications, system accessibility, and hardware and software design); (2) communication processes (e.g., preferences and effectiveness of methods used during the study); and (3) knowledge and training of participants and therapists on the technology's use (e.g., familiarity with Facebook, time required to gain competence with the system, and need for clinical observations during remote therapy). Strategies to address these factors are proposed. Conclusion: Lessons learned from this study can inform future clinical and implementation research using commercial videogames and social media platforms. The capacity to track compensatory movements, clinical considerations in game selection, the provision of kinematic and treatment progress reports to participants, and effective communication and training for therapists and participants may enhance research success, system usability, and adoption.
AB - Objective: To identify the factors that influence the use of an at-home virtual rehabilitation gaming system from the perspective of therapists, engineers, and adults and adolescents with hemiparesis secondary to stroke, brain injury, and cerebral palsy. Materials and Methods: This study reports on qualitative findings from a study, involving seven adults (two female; mean age: 65 ± 8 years) and three adolescents (one female; mean age: 15 ± 2 years) with hemiparesis, evaluating the feasibility and clinical effectiveness of a home-based custom-designed virtual rehabilitation system over 2 months. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data from therapists' weekly telephone interview notes, research team documentation regarding issues raised during technical support interactions, and the transcript of a poststudy debriefing session involving research team members and collaborators. Results: Qualitative themes that emerged suggested that system use was associated with three key factors as follows: (1) the technology itself (e.g., characteristics of the games and their clinical implications, system accessibility, and hardware and software design); (2) communication processes (e.g., preferences and effectiveness of methods used during the study); and (3) knowledge and training of participants and therapists on the technology's use (e.g., familiarity with Facebook, time required to gain competence with the system, and need for clinical observations during remote therapy). Strategies to address these factors are proposed. Conclusion: Lessons learned from this study can inform future clinical and implementation research using commercial videogames and social media platforms. The capacity to track compensatory movements, clinical considerations in game selection, the provision of kinematic and treatment progress reports to participants, and effective communication and training for therapists and participants may enhance research success, system usability, and adoption.
KW - Cerebral palsy
KW - Hemiplegia
KW - Serious games
KW - Stroke rehabilitation
KW - Technology adoption
KW - Virtual reality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85049008541&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/g4h.2017.0137
DO - 10.1089/g4h.2017.0137
M3 - Article
C2 - 29565694
AN - SCOPUS:85049008541
VL - 7
SP - 197
EP - 207
JO - Games for Health Journal
JF - Games for Health Journal
SN - 2161-783X
IS - 3
ER -