A study conducted at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, shows that tests of functional mobility and muscle strength can be adapted so that they can be performed at home under remote supervision by health professionals, especially for older people with dementia. The telehealth protocol also involves training for caregivers. Tests of functional mobility and muscle strength are widely used by and geriatricians to evaluate aging, prescribe treatment or , and analyze the effects of therapeutic intervention on older people.
"The results we obtained in the remotely supervised tests were reliable. The main contribution of the study is that it lays a foundation for assuring wider access to health care for older people with . Telehealth sessions can be more frequent and enable health workers to track the patient's progress more comprehensively," said Larissa Pires de Andrade, a professor in UFSCar's Department of Physical Therapy and last author of the study in the journal .
For Andrade, conducting functional mobility and muscle strength tests remotely is a valid way to provide a service to people who cannot afford to attend a clinic or lack the physical conditions to do so. It can also be useful in situations that prevent patients from leaving their homes, as was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was part of the Ph.
D. research of Carolina Tsen, first author of the article. It was also part of a larger project on telereh.