Reaching the Unreached: Home-Based Telerehabilitation for Stroke Survivors

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Standard of Care (SOC): 8 weeks of standard of care for patients discharged from hospital without referrals to outpatient rehabilitation.

Telerehabilitation with Tenzr: 8 weeks of telerehabilitation at home supported by a remote therapist utilizing the Tenzr application.

Study summary

After a stroke, many people have trouble using their arms and hands. This can make daily tasks-like eating, dressing, or writing-very hard. In Alberta, especially in small towns and rural areas, many stroke survivors go home from the hospital without being referred to rehabilitation. As a result, they miss out on therapy that could help them get better.

This project will test a new way to bring rehabilitation directly into people's homes using telerehabilitation. We will work with 200 stroke survivors across Alberta who did not get regular outpatient rehab. Participants will use the clinically validated Tenzr system-a set of fun, game-like exercises with wearable sensors. Therapists will check in and guide them remotely.

When participants are enrolled in the study, they will be randomized (1:1) into two groups. The Immediate group will receive 8 weeks of home-based telerehabilitation using the Tenzr platform immediately after baseline, while the Delayed group will receive 8 weeks of observation (usual care) followed by 8 weeks of the same telerehabilitation intervention. Everyone in the study will be tested at the baseline, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks. At 16 weeks, we will also interview them to gather their feedback on the telerehabilitation. We want to learn if this program helps people improve arm and hand movement, if it's easy to use, and if people like it. We also want to see if it could be offered more widely across Alberta in the future.

The goal is to give more people access to stroke rehabilitation, no matter where they live.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Change in Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity (FM-UE) — Baseline, 8 weeks and 16 weeks.
  The Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) is a stroke-specific, performance-based impairment index. It is designed to assess motor functioning, balance, sensation and joint functioning in patients with post-stroke hemiplegia. We will be obtaining and reporting the Upper Extremity subscore. It is a score without units.

Trial sites (1)

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