Psychouli, Pavlina

ΟBJECTIVE To develop the Greek version of the Motor Activity Log (MAL) and to test its reliability and internal consistency. METHOD This was a multicentre study, conducted at four rehabilitation clinics in Cyprus and Greece between 2018–2021. Translation of the MAL followed established international guidelines. The Greek MAL was completed by occupational therapists for 46 patients with hemiplegia following stroke on three occasions; days 1 and 4 by interviewing the patient and additionally, within this interval by interviewing the primary caregiver, in order to establish the degree of agreement between patient and caregiver. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach’s alpha (α) and reliability was assessed with the use of intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS There were no major issues that arose during the forward-backward translation of the MAL into Greek, neither cultural adaptation conflicts. The internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s α=0.95), while the test-retest reliability was 0.993 for both MAL Amount of Use (AOU) and Quality of Use (QOU) Scale. ICC between caregivers and patients was 0.987 for MAL AOU and 0.980 for MAL QOL. CONCLUSIONS The Greek version of MAL is a reliable assessment tool for adult patients with hemiplegia following stroke. It may be considered a useful tool for the out-of-clinic measurement of upper limb involvement in everyday activities for Greek-speaking clinicians. © Athens Medical Society.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was (1) to identify the most appropriate splint from children's and parents' perspective as reflected by effectiveness and adherence to home-based forced use therapy (FUT). (2) To provide guidance in the development of a practical and effective protocol based on forced use principles. METHOD: A crossover design with a convenience sample of children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy and their parents was used to test three types of splint (mitt, short splint and long splint) during home-based FUT. Children wore the splints for a minimum of 1 h/ day during physical activity. Outcome measures included a daily log and a questionnaire (completed by parents), an actometer worn on the affected hand to quantify movement and video recordings to inform quality of movement. RESULTS: The short splint was found to be the most effective and acceptable restraining device. Wearing devices for more than 1 h per day was not considered acceptable by either parents or children. CONCLUSION: A short splint, worn for 1 h per day was found to be the most acceptable protocol.

Modern Wearable Medical Devices (WMDs), implement capabilities that have contributed significantly to patient outcomes, as well as quality of life. Using such devices can be beneficial for many patients, especially during the time of the pandemic where everyone had to isolate at home. This paper presents a proof of concept of a new low-cost technology-based approach to support home-based rehabilitation for people with hemiplegia aiming to assess the effectiveness of their home-based exercises thus making telerehabilitation sessions more effective.