From Awareness to Adoption: Barriers and Facilitators of Telerehabilitation in Jordanian Physiotherapy Practice.

Background/

Objectives

Telerehabilitation is increasingly used globally to deliver physiotherapy services remotely, yet its adoption in Jordan remains limited. This quantitative cross-sectional study aimed to explore the awareness, perceptions, and willingness of Jordanian physiotherapists regarding telerehabilitation, and to identify barriers and facilitators to its adoption.

Methods

An online self-administered questionnaire was completed by a convenience sample of 200 physiotherapists (111 males, 89 females; age range 23-62 years). Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used for analysis.

Results

Results revealed that 116 participants (58.0% of the total sample) were aware of telerehabilitation. Among those aware, 79 (68.1%) had used it, with online video (27.0% of total sample; 46.6% of users) being the most common modality. A significant association was found between higher education level (Master's/Ph.D.) and greater awareness (p < 0.001). Key barriers included lack of reimbursement (33.0% of total sample; 56.9% of aware respondents), technical difficulties (47.0%), infrastructure issues (39.0%), and lack of training (34.0%). Among aware participants who responded to attitude items, the majority agreed that telerehabilitation enhances patient access (85/116, 73.3% of aware respondents) and is a valuable addition to practice (102/116, 87.9% of aware respondents), while 43.0% of the total sample (86/200) believed it can never fully replace in-person consultation.

Conclusions

Awareness of telerehabilitation among Jordanian physiotherapists is moderate, and actual clinical use remains low. Higher education level was significantly associated with greater awareness, highlighting a key demographic correlate. However, significant educational, financial, and infrastructural barriers hinder the transition from awareness to adoption. Policy reforms and structured training programs are urgently needed to support the integration of telerehabilitation into routine physiotherapy practice in Jordan.