Tai Po Community Exercise Equipment Map – Bringing “Rehab Anywhere”

Abstract Description

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Authors (including presenting author) :

Grace H.W. Leung(1), C.H. Mak(1), C.H. Yuen(1), C.T. Cheung(1), W.K. Lau(1), K.M. Lo(2), S.W. Wong(2), C.H. Fan(2), Y.W. Hung(2), K.B. Kwok(2)

Affiliation :

(1)Department of Physiotherapy, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, (2)Department of Orthopedics & Traumatology, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital

Introduction :

We think that it is crucial for patients to continue rehabilitation even when discharged from physiotherapy to improve their condition and lessen the burden on our health care system. There are many exercise equipment in the community but our patients are not aware of their rehabilitation value.

Objectives :

Hoping to encourage our patients to continue rehabilitation in the community, our team developed the Tai Po Community Exercise Equipment Map. We believe that empowering patients as their own healthcare partner is the best vision for our health care system.

Methodology :

Our team spent 6 weeks making site visits to the public estates and parks in Tai Po to verify the exact location and type of community exercise equipment available. We mapped out 15 shoulder reciprocal pulleys, 35 upper limb mobilizers and 32 lower limb mobilizers. The map was uploaded to our “Rehab Anywhere” E-platform, a multimedia website for Total Joint Replacement (TJR) patients to guide their rehabilitation journey. Now the E-platform can be assessed by the public via "AHNH at One-Click". To facilitate the usage of the E-platform, we distribute posters and pocket-size cards to patients or care-givers with QR codes to access our website and videos in our TJR program and out-patient department. In addition, we teach the patients and care-givers how to navigate the E-platform before and after the TJR operation. For TJR patients who attend our pre-operation class, we encourage them to look for community exercise equipment according to the map near their homes before the operation to facilitate post-operation rehabilitation.

Result & Outcome :

Since our launch of the E-platform on 9 October, 2018, we have introduced our map face-to-face to 204 patients. The total view count of our Youtube videos on our E-platform were 2904 by 31 December, 2018. For our satisfaction survey, 78% of our TJC patients thought the community map was “very helpful”, while 22% thought it “helpful” for their rehabilitation. Conclusion: By mapping out the community exercise equipment, we hope that we are able to empower our patients to continue their rehabilitation in the community, and lessen the burden on our healthcare system.