Rehab Tech Abandonment - Live Webinar

On one hand, it truly feels like we are on track for health technology to transform healthcare as we know it.

On the other hand, we have to weigh the reality that many health tech solutions end up abandoned.

This is especially true of consumer-facing health tech. This is especially true of consumers facing health tech. Some of the latest research shows that around 70% of users abandon health tech apps within 100 days.

Rehabilitation technology fares better — largely because of the clinician in the loop, who prescribes, fits, and supports the technology toward a defined therapeutic goal. But abandonment is still real: even with a clinician involved, one study showed roughly 10–30% of assistive rehab technology is abandoned,. Rates run higher for some device categories, like pediatric AAC devices that show 33% abandonment.

Fortunately, new research is emerging all the time on the factors that drive technology adoption — and, increasingly, structured frameworks to guide our decisions.

In today's course, we are excited to welcome Chris Gaskins, PhD, whose dissertation, "Mental Workload during Prosthetic Training" examined how cognitive demand shapes the way clients learn and adopt health tech. We'll hear how he is thinking about this whole landscape — and, most importantly, how he makes decisions with his clients at his outpatient neuro practice.

1. You will be able to identify assessment options related to rehab tech adoption readiness that can be utilized by therapists.

2. You will be able to recognize an evidence backed framework for implementing rehab tech adoption.

Intro (5 minutes)

Discussion (40 minutes)

1. How did you get interested in rehab tech?

2. Can you tell me about your dissertation and some of your initial learnings?

3. Here are some of the abandonment stats we are seeing in research, what’s your reaction?

4. One  popular framework to influence tech adoption is the Rehabilitation Technology Implementation Model (RiTe). Does it feel helpful?

5. How do you assess that a health tech solution might be needed?

6. How do you weigh when considering the right solution?

7. How do you set the client up for success with that solution?

8. How do you pivot and adjust when it is not going well?

9. There is so much hope for health tech to transform healthcare, how do we balance this with the reality that it is often abandoned?

Live Q&A (5-10 min)

Closing (5 min)

• Factors influencing adoption and sustained use of rehabilitation technologies: a scoping review and qualitative analysis

• Understanding digital health technology implementation in rehabilitation and development of the Rehabilitation Technologies Implementation model

• Barriers and Facilitators to the Adoption of Evidence-Based Interventions for Adults Within Occupational and Physical Therapy Practice Settings: A Systematic Review

• The complexity of home-based rehabilitation technology implementation for post-stroke motor rehabilitation in the Netherlands | BMC Health Services Research

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic.