Parents’ satisfaction of tele-rehabilitation for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: The use of tele-rehabilitation in children was limited before the COVID-19 pandemic, due to culture, technology access, regulatory and reimbursement barriers. METHODS: The study was conducted according to the CHERRIES (Checklist for reporting results of internet E-surveys) guidelines in order to provide quantitative and qualitative data about experience of patients with disabilities and their caregivers during Phase 1 of the COVID-19 pandemic, and their level of satisfaction. An online survey was developed using Google Forms and sent via email. The outcome measures were rated using a 5-point Likert Scale. Two additional open-ended questions were used to collect qualitative data. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-eight out of 261 families responded to the survey: 80.5% of the caregivers reported they were satisfied with the tele-rehabilitation. More than a half (53%) of the families reported a high level of satisfaction with the involvement they received in defining and sharing of rehabilitation goals. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of telehealth during the COVID-19 lockdown has allowed us to gain more information about the potential of tele-rehabilitation, and resulted in an excellent satisfaction of caregivers. With appropriate education and consistent models of care, an increased use of telehealth may provide advances in remote patient care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12875-022-01747-2.