Exploring Compassionate Care in Virtual Rehabilitation: Qualitative Study

Abstract BackgroundVirtually delivered health care services can offer numerous benefits, and the demand for virtual care continues to grow among subgroups facing mobility challenges. The experience of compassion in health care is linked to patient satisfaction and clinical out...

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Main Authors: Parminder Flora, Angela Tobia, Lee Verweel, Bernice Lau, Janet Campbell, Arezoo Eshraghi, Steven Dilkas, Roger Goldstein, Patricia Raulino, Crystal MacKay
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2025-05-01
Series:JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies
Online Access:https://rehab.jmir.org/2025/1/e59157
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author Parminder Flora
Angela Tobia
Lee Verweel
Bernice Lau
Janet Campbell
Arezoo Eshraghi
Steven Dilkas
Roger Goldstein
Patricia Raulino
Crystal MacKay
author_facet Parminder Flora
Angela Tobia
Lee Verweel
Bernice Lau
Janet Campbell
Arezoo Eshraghi
Steven Dilkas
Roger Goldstein
Patricia Raulino
Crystal MacKay
author_sort Parminder Flora
collection DOAJ
description Abstract BackgroundVirtually delivered health care services can offer numerous benefits, and the demand for virtual care continues to grow among subgroups facing mobility challenges. The experience of compassion in health care is linked to patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes; however, this link in virtual rehabilitation settings is underexplored. ObjectiveThe objectives of this study were to explore what compassionate care means to rehabilitation patients in a virtual rehabilitation context and explore patients’ experiences of how the technology associated with virtual rehabilitation impacted their experience of care. MethodsWe conducted one-on-one semistructured qualitative interviews with patients with limb loss and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A reflexive thematic analysis approach was used to generate domain summaries and initial themes across the sample. Themes were generated following analytic work over a series of discussions within the research team. ResultsSixteen interviews were conducted. Four themes illustrating participants’ perceptions of compassionate care were generated: (1) features of compassionate care include feeling valued, connected, and cared for by the health care provider; (2) threats to compassionate care in virtual rehabilitation; (3) facilitating compassion in virtual rehabilitation through preparation; and (4) benefits of virtual care. ConclusionsPatient perceptions of compassionate care in a virtual rehabilitation setting may be impacted by the behaviors and communication of providers. Provider training and preparation and the personal connections formed with their patients may impact compassionate care experiences.
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spelling doaj-art-e46ad63c713a4fb7b648d52759283b452025-08-20T03:22:19ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies2369-25292025-05-0112e59157e5915710.2196/59157Exploring Compassionate Care in Virtual Rehabilitation: Qualitative StudyParminder Florahttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-0414-1145Angela Tobiahttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-3538-8370Lee Verweelhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-3363-8161Bernice Lauhttp://orcid.org/0009-0003-9842-1865Janet Campbellhttp://orcid.org/0009-0002-4085-9867Arezoo Eshraghihttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-1525-8093Steven Dilkashttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-0840-7326Roger Goldsteinhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-4236-043XPatricia Raulinohttp://orcid.org/0009-0003-8117-4271Crystal MacKayhttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-3503-7025 Abstract BackgroundVirtually delivered health care services can offer numerous benefits, and the demand for virtual care continues to grow among subgroups facing mobility challenges. The experience of compassion in health care is linked to patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes; however, this link in virtual rehabilitation settings is underexplored. ObjectiveThe objectives of this study were to explore what compassionate care means to rehabilitation patients in a virtual rehabilitation context and explore patients’ experiences of how the technology associated with virtual rehabilitation impacted their experience of care. MethodsWe conducted one-on-one semistructured qualitative interviews with patients with limb loss and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A reflexive thematic analysis approach was used to generate domain summaries and initial themes across the sample. Themes were generated following analytic work over a series of discussions within the research team. ResultsSixteen interviews were conducted. Four themes illustrating participants’ perceptions of compassionate care were generated: (1) features of compassionate care include feeling valued, connected, and cared for by the health care provider; (2) threats to compassionate care in virtual rehabilitation; (3) facilitating compassion in virtual rehabilitation through preparation; and (4) benefits of virtual care. ConclusionsPatient perceptions of compassionate care in a virtual rehabilitation setting may be impacted by the behaviors and communication of providers. Provider training and preparation and the personal connections formed with their patients may impact compassionate care experiences.https://rehab.jmir.org/2025/1/e59157
spellingShingle Parminder Flora
Angela Tobia
Lee Verweel
Bernice Lau
Janet Campbell
Arezoo Eshraghi
Steven Dilkas
Roger Goldstein
Patricia Raulino
Crystal MacKay
Exploring Compassionate Care in Virtual Rehabilitation: Qualitative Study
JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies
title Exploring Compassionate Care in Virtual Rehabilitation: Qualitative Study
title_full Exploring Compassionate Care in Virtual Rehabilitation: Qualitative Study
title_fullStr Exploring Compassionate Care in Virtual Rehabilitation: Qualitative Study
title_full_unstemmed Exploring Compassionate Care in Virtual Rehabilitation: Qualitative Study
title_short Exploring Compassionate Care in Virtual Rehabilitation: Qualitative Study
title_sort exploring compassionate care in virtual rehabilitation qualitative study
url https://rehab.jmir.org/2025/1/e59157
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