Research Project

Telerehabilitation Disparities for Patients with Limited Proficiency

This project aims to explore whether English proficiency affects success of telerehabilitation visits and to analyze workflows and user experiences during language-discordant telerehabilitation encounters.

Principal Investigator: Mirza, Mansha
Start Date: 2022-06-01
End Date: 2025-04-30
Research Area(s): Active Projects; Communication and Care Coordination; Health Disparities; Rehabilitation
Funding Source: UIC-OSF Community Health Advocacy (CHA) program

Abstract

This project sought to investigate disparities in outpatient telerehabilitation delivery for patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) as well as to identify barriers to and facilitators of successful telerehabilitation for this population.

The project had two aims:

Aim 1: To examine whether English proficiency is associated with successful video or phone telerehabilitation encounters (completed versus cancelled/no show). Hypothesis 1a. Limited English Proficiency will be independently associated with fewer successful telerehabilitation encounters Hypothesis 1b. Telerehabilitation delivered via video will be associated with higher odds of successful encounters compared with telerehabilitation delivered by phone for patients with LEP

Aim 2: To characterize workflow patterns and variations associated with professional interpreter-mediated telerehabilitation encounters Related to this aim, we sought to identify aspects of workflow, technology, and other factors that support or hinder telerehabilitation services for patients with LEP.