The Impact of a mHealth Application on Outpatient Physical Therapy HEP Adherence and Outcomes: A RCT
Condition: Orthopedic Disorder; Musculoskeletal Injury
MeSH terms: Musculoskeletal Diseases
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to determine the impact a mobile health application has on
      adherence to a physical therapy home exercise program and its effect on functional outcomes.
    

Detailed description: 
      Outpatient physical therapy is an integral aspect in combating the impairment and dysfunction
      associated with musculoskeletal injuries. Healthcare and insurance restrictions are leading
      to reduced clinic visits, encouraging efficient and effective treatments and focusing a
      greater demand on education, proactive wellness and home exercise maintenance. Home exercise
      prescription has long been a fundamental aspect to a physical therapy routine or regimen. It
      is well established that exercise protocols can positively impact pain, fitness levels,
      physical function and measures of life quality (Forkan, Pumper, Smyth, Wirkkala, A Ciol, &
      Shumway-Cook, 2006). It is also recognized that treatment outcomes may be negatively impacted
      by non-adherence to the prescribed exercise recommendation in rehabilitation (Holden,
      Haywood, Portia, Gee, & Mclean, 2014). Research historically suggests that levels of
      non-adherence to exercise prescription range from 50-70% (Bassett, 2003; Sluijs, Kok, & van
      der Zee, 1993), and likely increase as time passes. Investigating non-adherence demonstrates
      a myriad of influencing factors. These factors can be characterized as motivators and
      barriers. With the explosion of mobile communications access and increasing number of active
      device users, healthcare is embarking on the concept of mobile health management. Mobile
      health interventions have been found to have a positive impact in the arenas of medication
      compliance, weight loss, chronic disease management and postoperative complication (Lee,
      2016; Ronghua, Li, (2015).The implementation of a mobile health application in physical
      therapy outpatient management has not been well established. It is time to investigate the
      impact of using a mobile health application on a prescribed physical therapy treatment
      regimen for the enhancement of HEP adherence and functional outcome assessment.
    

Intervention name(s): Augmented Media Group; Traditional Group
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): The intervention group will receive traditional PT services deemed clinically appropriate via examination plus home exercise prescription augmented via a mobile health application. The augmented media group will receive digital exercise prescription via a mobile health application source (Physitrack) that includes: high definition video and pictures, education material and written instruction, reminder notification and in-app logging of completion.; The Traditional Group will receive traditional PT services deemed clinically appropriate via examination plus traditional home exercise prescription.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment