Analysis of the readiness for healthcare personnel adopting telerehabilitation: An interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach

Abstract

Telerehabilitation (TeleRehab) is the modern innovation used for rehabilitation service. Evidence in favor of readiness among healthcare personnel in adopting TeleRehab is limited. Since “readiness” is a crucial prerequisite to the successful implementation of an innovation, studying the healthcare personnel readiness for TeleRehab is mandatory to gain a better understanding of the relationships among the factors. The main aim of this paper is to determine the relationship among the readiness factors of healthcare personnel and to identify the most influential factors from the recommended readiness list with the help of ISM approach. The study has been conducted in three different phases: the identification of readiness factors from reviewing the literature, interviews with personnel healthcare, and determining the relationship among the readiness factors and its most influential factor. Twelve (12) relevant readiness factors have been identified from reviewing the literature and interviews with experts. Through the use of ISM, five (5) factors have been identified as driver factors; another five (5) factors have been identified as the linkage factors and two (2) factors have been identified as the dependence factors. No factor has been identified as autonomous factor. Out of which, one (1) factor has been identified as top-level factor and one (1) bottom level factor. Clear understanding of these readiness factors will help healthcare institutions to better prioritize and manage their human resource, healthcare personnel in an efficient and effective way to adopt TeleRehab. The proposed structured model developed will help to understand relationship of the readiness factors.