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Can a remote physiotherapy program promote mental and physical health in individuals who have experienced trauma?
Hanan Khalil, Ph.D.
Jordan University of Science and Technology
Irbid, Jordan
Background
According to research, individuals who experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a form of trauma, may develop problems with brain health. Specifically, PTSD is associated with reductions in memory and attention, and studies have found that it may increase one’s risk for dementia in later life. PTSD is often treated with physiotherapy, which can improve both the physical and mental damage induced by trauma. However, physiotherapy is often difficult to provide to populations who need it the most. Such populations include refugees who have fled from war and other traumatic environments in their home countries. These individuals often lack smartphones, proximity to clinics, or other resources that make it easy for them to get treatment.
Research Plan
Dr. Hanan Kalil and colleagues will assess how the Centre of Victims of Torture (CVT), a non-governmental organization dedicated to assisting trauma survivors, can best offer cost-effective, remote methods of physiotherapy for refugees with PTSD in Jordan. First, they will recruit ten CVT physiotherapists, along with ten trauma survivors who have undergone standard, clinic-based therapy at CVT. Participants will be interviewed to determine how well the standard therapy has been working, and to assess how a remote form of physiotherapy may be offered to PTSD survivors. Dr. Khalil’s team will then work with both therapists and survivors to develop a toolbox for remote physiotherapy that includes guidelines for therapist training and a list of resources needed to optimize remote therapy. Next, CVT therapists will undergo the toolbox training and administer remote physiotherapy to a second group of trauma survivors. These participants will then be interviewed to assess whether the therapy improved such factors as depression, anxiety and cognition in the survivors, and to identify the treatment’s logistical strengths and pitfalls.
Impact
Results from this study will help clarify how physiotherapy impacts brain health in traumatized populations. They may also identify a novel tool for improving physical and mental function in these vulnerable groups.
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