Attitudes of COPD Patients towards Tele-Rehabilitation: A Cross-Sector Case Study

Birthe Dinesen, Lotte Huniche and Egon Toft
Additional contact information
Birthe Dinesen: Telehealth Laboratory, Integrative Neuroscience Research Group, Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction, Department of Health Science and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7 D3, Aalborg DK-9220, Denmark
Lotte Huniche: Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, J.B. Winsloews Vej 9, Odense DK-5000, Denmark
Egon Toft: Department of Health Science and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, Niels Jernes Vej 10, Aalborg DK-9920, Denmark

IJERPH, 2013, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to describe patients’ attitudes towards tele-rehabilitation in the Danish TELEKAT (for Telehomecare, Chronic Patients and the Integrated Healthcare System) project, in order to better understand patients’ behavior when performing tele-rehabilitation activities in home surroundings. A total of 111 COPD patients were included in the study, and they were randomized into an intervention group (n = 60) and a control group (n = 51). However, a non-randomized design was used to analyze the qualitative perspectives of the patients’ attitudes towards tele-rehabilitation. From the intervention group, 22 COPD patients were selected for qualitative interviews and participant observation in their homes. The theoretical framework for this study is based on learning theory and the “communities of practice” approach inspired by Etienne Wenger. COPD patients exhibit four types of attitudes about their tele-rehabilitation: indifference, learning as part of situations in everyday life, feeling of security and motivation for performing physical training. The patients express the view that they circulate between these attitudes depending on their physical and emotional state as they perform their training. The COPD patients and healthcare professionals have created a community of tele-rehabilitation across sectors, exchanging experiences, stories and strategies for how to manage rehabilitation in home surroundings.

Keywords: tele-rehabilitation; COPD patients; semi-structured interviews; qualitative methods; home tele-health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/11/6184/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/11/6184/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:10:y:2013:i:11:p:6184-6198:d:30484

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().