Implementación de telerrehabilitación en Latinoamérica: revisión sistemática exploratoria

Telerehabilitation (TR) is a service delivery modality that favors access to rehabilitation; there is a need for research about TR implementation in Latin America (LA) to demonstrate development strategies and impact results.

Aim

To identify characteristics, barriers and facilitators of TR implementation in LA.

Method

Scoping review from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2022, using the databases Virtual Health Library (VHL); Scielo; PubMed; Scopus; Web of Science; EBSCO; CINAHL and Google Scholar; also, manual and gray literature searches.

Results

17 articles were identified reporting TR implementation processes in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala and Haiti. The TR implementation scenarios included primary health care, education and therapeutic intervention services. The most frequently identified barriers were: lack of connectivity; availability of therapeutic implements; difficulties in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs); quality of ICTs; and organizational and administrative difficulties. Among the facilitators

: the existence of regulations; ICT education of professionals and users; functionality; beneficiaries’ satisfaction of use and acceptance of TR.

Conclusions

TR in LA is emerging, and current literature reveals heterogeneity in terms of populations, settings and implementation outcomes. The identification of barriers and facilitators contributes to the implementation of TR in the region. There is an urgent need for research on TR implementation to respond to the challenges of the Latin American context in various rehabilitation scenarios.