Evaluation of Telerehabilitation Following Inpatient or Outpatient Rehabilitation Phase II

Telerehabilitation is implemented in the Pensionsversicherungsanstalt (PVA) as an independent rehabilitation offer following a rehabilitation phase II. This offer primarily includes physiotherapeutic training units in group settings and in individual counselling, as well as health-related educational sessions and doctor's consultations via video conferencing, initially for rehabilitation patients with diseases of the musculoskeletal system or oncological diseases. The first stage of the implementation process was evaluated with a focus on acceptance, usability and feasibility from the perspective of patients and treatment team. The evaluation was based on a convergent mixed methods design (Creswell \& Plano Clark, 2017) to draw on the strengths of qualitative and quantitative research approaches (Creswell \& Creswell, 2018). Qualitative and quantitative data were generated in parallel and treated equally. The perspective of the patients (N = 86) was collected through online questionnaires and in-depth telephone interviews (N = 22) and that of the treatment team through a questionnaire survey (N = 32) and focus group interviews (N = 24). The administrative team (N = 8) was asked for their assessment in a focus group interview. Technical difficulties in the implementation of telerehabilitation were documented by the treatment team. The consolidation of these multi-perspective results took place at the level of interpretation.