Activity and mobility using technology (amount) rehabilitation trial: Support and health coaching during the community program

Introduction/Background The need for rehabilitation is growing although there are limited resources to meet this demand. Use of affordable technologies to enable health professionals to prescribe and monitor rehabilitation remotely may be one strategy to meet this demand. Aim: to describe physiotherapy support provided to participants using technology to improve mobility and physical activity in the post-hospital phase of the AMOUNT rehabilitation trial ( n  = 300). Material and method Process evaluation including participants (mean age 70 (SD 18); 52% male; 54% with neurological conditions limiting mobility) randomised to the intervention group ( n  = 149). Intervention was additional to standard rehabilitation, prescribed using a protocol which matched games/exercises from eight technologies to the participant's mobility limitations. Technologies included video and computer games/exercises, tablet applications and activity monitors. Participants were taught to use the technologies during inpatient rehabilitation and were then discharged home to use the technologies ≥ 5 days a week for the remainder of the 6-month trial. Trial protocol required the physiotherapist to provide support every 1–2 weeks using a health coaching approach. Intervention datasheets were audited to determine frequency, duration, mode and type of support provided. Results Participants used on average 2 (SD 1) technologies in the post-hospital phase, with 95% of participants using an activity monitor. Physiotherapists had contact with participants on average 15 (SD 5) times (approximately every 11 days), of which eight were phone calls (11 min duration), six home-visits (46 min duration) and one other. Contact primarily incorporated health coaching (68%) with 8% of contact specifically for technology support. Topics discussed during health coaching included discussing data from prescribed technologies (79%), physical activity and mobility status (70%), adherence (64%) and goal setting (47%). Conclusion A health coaching model to support technology-based rehabilitation post-hospitalisation is feasible. Some support can be provided remotely limiting the need for frequent home visits.