Engaging in Virtual Care Following Spinal Cord Injury

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many rehabilitation programs and has highlighted issues of access to health care services. These issues have been particularly exacerbated for people living with spinal cord injury (SCI). Telemedicine has become critical for delivering health programs among this population and has the potential to be a sustainable model for care delivery. This symposium includes three studies: (1) an internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy program for people living with SCI; (2) an online group-based physical activity SCI program; (3) an implementation toolkit to support the development and evaluation of telerehabilitation. Telerehabilitation has the potential to improve health care access for patients with SCI. This Canadian-context symposium aims to share knowledge, insights and lessons learned about virtual care in response to gaps exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its objective is to motivate enhanced engagement of rehabilitation organizations, leaders and providers to continue to implement, improve and evaluate virtual rehabilitation.