Improvements of depression, anxiety, stress, and social support through a telerehabilitation system in discharged COVID-19 patients: a randomized controlled pilot study

Carpallo Porcar, Beatriz ; Calvo, Sandra (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Liñares Varela, Irene ; Bafaluy Franch, Laura ; Brandín de la Cruz, Natalia ; Gómez Barrera, Manuel ; Jiménez-Sánchez, Carolina

Resumen: Introduction: Post-acute COVID-19 patients who were discharged from hospitals during the epidemic faced significant challenges, not only physical sequelae, but also
psychological distress, anxiety, and depression. It is already known that continued exercise improves psychosocial components, but few studies have explored the impact of
multimodal rehabilitation programs, including therapeutic education, in this type of patient. There are no studies that explore the application of these programs through
asynchronous telerehabilitation, which would open up new therapeutic windows.
Methods: This pilot single-blinded randomized controlled trial included 35 postdischarge COVID-19 patients allocated to two intervention arms: an asynchronous telerehabilitation group (ATG) and a booklet-based rehabilitation group (BRG). The aim was to analyze the preliminary changes in depression, anxiety, stress, and social support comparing both groups.
Results: The ATG exhibited statistically significant reductions in depression (p=0.048) and stress (p=0.033) compared to the BRG after intervention. While both groups showed improvements in psychosocial variables, the ATG demonstrated consistent lower depression levels at 3- and 6-month follow-ups (p=0.010, p=0.036 respectively) and notably higher social support at 3- and 6-month follow-ups (p=0.038,
p=0.028 respectively).
Discussion: This pilot study suggests that a multimodal rehabilitation program using asynchronous telerehabilitation provides substantial benefits in terms of alleviating
psychological distress and improving social support in discharged COVID-19 patients. These data will enable for larger studies to confirm these results.
Clinical Trial registration: Clinialtrials.gov #NCT04794036.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1080/13548506.2024.2439180

Año: 2024

Publicado en: PSYCHOLOGY HEALTH & MEDICINE (2024), 1-21
ISSN: 1354-8506

Tipo y forma: Artículo (PrePrint)

Área (Departamento): Área Fisioterapia (Dpto. Fisiatría y Enfermería)