Functional Outcomes Following a Telehealth Interdisciplinary Program During COVID

Research Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of a telehealth (TH) program on the physical function of patients with chronic pain, and to compare TH to historical in-person treatment outcomes.

Design: A retrospective chart review of outcome data obtained pre-post week treatment duration.

Setting: Academic rehabilitation hospital, outpatient pain management center.

Participants: A sample of 51 consecutive adult patients with chronic pain (n=51) who participated in the TH program and historical data was obtained from a similar group of patients (n=51) who previously completed a comparable in-person pain program.

Interventions: The TH treatment included 1-2 weekly sessions from occupational therapists, psychologists and physical therapists, physical therapy group, for 6 weeks. The in-person program included individual occupational and physical therapy, individual psychology, and group sessions in each discipline, for 6 weeks.

Main Outcome Measures: The following pain region specific outcomes measures were used: Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Neck Disability Index (NDI), Lower Extremity Function Scale (LEFS), Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK), and Patient Specific Functional Scale (PSFS). All measures were administered at the start of the program and again at discharge.

Results: Paired-samples t-tests showed significant changes on all outcome measures (t’s = 2.320 - 12.082, P’s = .001 - .045). Cohen’s d indicated medium effects for the LEFS, TSK, ODI, NDI, and DASH (d’s = .35 - .61), and a large effect for the PSFS (d = 1.79). Independent-samples t-tests were used to compare outcomes (difference scores) between those receiving the TH invention and those who participated in an in-person program. There were no statistically significant group differences on any of the outcomes: LEFS (Mdiff= -0.03, 95%CI [-5.95,5.89], t(53)= -0.010, p=.992), TSK (Mdiff= -1.77, CI [1.54,-4.85], t(70)= -1.161, p=.250), ODI (Mdiff=0.72, CI [-2.80,4.25], t(45)=0.413, p=.681), NDI (Mdiff= -0.40, CI [-6.73,5.93], t(13)= -.136, p=.894), DASH (Mdiff=3.98, CI [-6.38,14.34], t(28)=0.786, p=.438), and PSFS (Mdiff= -0.62, 95%CI [-1.33,0.10], t(91)= -1.714, p=.090).

Conclusions: Findings show preliminary support for the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary pain management telehealth intervention.

Author(s) Disclosures: None