Engagement Methodologies for Improving Patient Adherence to Physical Rehabilitation

Abstract

Physical rehabilitation is a clinically recognised treatment method for various physical injuries or impairments. Despite the significant benefits of physical rehabilitation, poor patient adherence is evident across many studies, leading to lower rates of success. With the advancement and integration of digital technologies, such as mobile technologies, wearables and machine learning methodologies, the performance of physical rehabilitation interventions has been improved. However, these technologies and the corresponding methodologies are yet to be as prevalent in addressing the problem of low adherence. In this thesis, a personalised communication system for a mobile physical rehabilitation application has been designed, modelled, developed, and integrated into the OPUM Technologies Digital Knee product. This system is able to control and deliver adaptive digital triggers to motivate users and promote engagement through the use of remote push notifications. These digital triggers are intervention messages, which are tailored and personalised, using theoretical constructs and an adaptive intervention controller that utilises a dynamic user model and a “smart” message recommender system. Employing a preliminary, small-scale study conducted by the company, overall engagements showed that the use of digital triggers was effective in improving patient engagement and adherence. The user model and adaptive intervention controller also showed potential in providing good short-term solutions for intervention tailoring.