Identification and description of telerehabilitation assessments for individuals with neurological conditions: A scoping review

BACKGROUND: The clinical adoption of telerehabilitation accelerated rapidly over the last few years, creating opportunities for clinicians and researchers to explore the use of digital technologies and telerehabilitation in the assessment of deficits related to neurological conditions. The objectives of this scoping review were to identify outcome measures used to remotely assess the motor function and participation in people with neurological conditions and report, when available, the psychometric data of these remote outcome measures. METHODS: MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL, PubMed, PsychINFO, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched between December 13, 2020, and January 4, 2021, for studies investigating the use of remote assessments to evaluate motor function and participation in people with neurological conditions. An updated search was completed on May 9, 2022, using the same databases and search terms. Two reviewers independently screened each title and abstract, followed by full-text screening. Data extraction was completed using a pre-piloted data extraction sheet where outcome measures were reported as per the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. RESULTS: Fifty studies were included in this review. Eighteen studies targeted outcomes related to body structures and 32 targeted those related to activity limitation and participation restriction. Seventeen studies reported psychometric data; of these, most included reliability and validity data. CONCLUSION: Clinical assessments of motor function of people living with neurological conditions can be completed in a telerehabilitation or remote context using validated and reliable remote assessment measures.