The
article that I chose to write my blog post on is Video Communication in Remote
Rehabilitation and Occupational Therapy Groups. I chose this article because I
thought that it would be interesting to see if virtual group meetings would be
as productive as an in-person group meetings.
This
article addresses some of the pros and cons of having group meetings online
rather than in person.
· Pros
o
Safe/familiar
environment may elicit further progress and be encouraging
o
Improved
communication skills
o
Ease of
access for those homebound or lacking transportation
· Cons
o
Technical
problems/clients being unfamiliar with technology
o
Materials
need to sent to clients ahead of time (if necessary)
o
No hands-on
interaction with client
Some of
the other things that this article addresses are that this study only consisted
of 5-6 sessions so for groups with a longer time frame, the results may be less
applicable. This study also mentions that the number of group members needed to
smaller than in person. This could be a pro when it comes to getting a more
one-on-one experience but a con for not being able to connect with as many
people. The study also was a subjective study based on client’s opinion rather
than being based on the impact of the therapy. Lastly the study emphasizes that
remote rehabilitation does not and should not replace traditional face to face
interactions.
I found
this article to be very interesting. The idea of using technology as a means
for group facilitation was something that I had previously thought about but
was unsure how it would work and if it would be productive. From reading this
article, I think that the idea of remote rehabilitation group meetings could be
beneficial for certain populations. I can also see this being a great way to
have group meetings between regularly scheduled face-to-face group meetings and/or
therapy sessions. I think that this would be the best way to utilize this
technique because it gives clients the therapeutic benefit of having the
face-to-face meetings, while also having the ease and convenience of a using a
remote way of therapy. An example of how
I think that this would work is an “on-site” meeting once a month and remote
meetings every week. I feel like this is something that should be researched
more to establish if it does produce a therapeutic benefit to the clients.
Reference:
Simil, H., Harjumaa, M.,
Isomursu, M., Ervasti, M., & Moilanen, H. (2014). Video communication in
remote rehabilitation and occupational therapy groups. Physical &
Occupational Therapy In Geriatrics, 32(2), 97-111.
doi:10.3109/02703181.2014.919050
