rural access to physical therapy for osteoarthritis rehabilitation - pilot

Conditions: Osteoarthritis, Knee

Summary: this is a pilot study involving a hybrid in-person + telerehabilitation intervention for rural adults with knee osteoarthritis. the primary purpose is to demonstrate feasibility and safety of the raptor program, and the secondary purpose is to estimate clinical effectiveness of the raptor program on participants' pain, function, and quality of life.

the purpose of the raptor pilot study is to determine feasibility of a rural telerehabilitation intervention by assessing (1) attendance rate for telerehabilitation visits among participants in the pilot program; (2) participants satisfaction with the program; and (3) participant outcomes regarding pain, function, and quality of life. this pilot study will provide preliminary data to support efforts to obtain external funding for a future randomized trial comparing traditional physical therapy (pt) to the raptor approach. the primary purpose of the raptor pilot study is to demonstrate feasibility and safety of the raptor program in rural adults with knee osteoarthritis (koa). the secondary purpose is to estimate clinical effectiveness of the raptor program on participants' pain, function, and health-related quality of life. this will enable the investigators to determine a sample size estimate for a future trial comparing raptor to a traditional face-to-face physical therapy approach in this population. specific aim 1: to assess feasibility of the rural access to physical therapy for osteoarthritis rehabilitation (raptor) program in delivering a hybrid telerehabilitation program to rural people with koa. hypothesis 1: participants in the raptor program will attend at least 80% of study-related in-person and telerehabilitation visits, and will experience no serious adverse events. specific aim 2: to determine preliminary clinical effectiveness of the raptor program by assessing pain, physical function, and health-related quality of life via patient-reported and performance-based outcomes. hypothesis 2: a majority of raptor participants will demonstrate clinically meaningful improvement in patient-reported pain, physical function, and/or health-related quality of life.

Eligibility criteria:
potential participants who meet all of the following criteria will be included: * participant meets american college of rheumatology criteria for the clinical diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis * participant's home address is in a rural (non-core) western pennsylvania county * participant is willing to travel to centers for rehab services - bedford clinic for two face-to-face sessions with a licensed physical therapist * participant has access to high-speed internet and/or lte wireless service and a device (tablet, computer, or smartphone) to access the telerehabilitation platform * participant is aged 40 or over potential participants will be excluded if any of the following criteria apply: * chronic neurological disorder affecting balance or coordination * any other disorder that affects balance or gait * two or more falls in the past 12 months, or sought medical attention for any fall within the past 12 months

Keywords: arthritis physical therapy rehabilitation rural telehealth telerehabilitation knee osteoarthritis