Guiding Technology Adoption in Rehabilitation: A Framework From the Rehabilitation Technology Implementation for Promising Solutions (Rehab TIPS) Workgroup.

Abstract

There is an unprecedented growth in health and rehabilitation technologies influencing service delivery. Although adopting emergent or existent technologies may add value to rehabilitation services and outcomes, clinicians face uncertainties on whether and how to adopt new technologies. Because of these challenges, rehabilitation stakeholders need to be active agents in the development, adoption, and ongoing evaluation of a given technology's effect. This special communication presents the Rehabilitation Technology Implementation for Promising Solutions (Rehab TIPS) Framework. This Framework, designed by the multidisciplinary Rehab TIPS workgroup, integrates established theories toward guiding rehabilitation clinicians in a systematic process of selecting and adopting valuable technologies. This special communication details the underlying models that informed the Rehab TIPS Framework. Then, the 2 components of the Rehab TIPS Framework are outlined: (1) a decision-making process to guide the selection of appropriate technologies for adoption, and (2) the 3 phases of technology adoption by individuals within a socioecological context. Finally, we discuss how the Rehab TIPS Framework can be used in the rehabilitation field, including future directions for advancing the science and practice of technology adoption in rehabilitation.