BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Digit. Health
Sec. Health Technology Implementation
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2025.1489288
This article is part of the Research TopicSocioeconomic Inequalities in Digital HealthView all 6 articles
Professionals' perspective on the challenges of implementing digital solutions in rehabilitation settings in RwandaExpected challenges in implementation of digital solutions in rehabilitation settings in Rwanda -Perspective of professionals
Provisionally accepted
Kaisa Jokinen1*
Michael Oduor1
Gerard Urimubenshi2
Juliette Gasana2
Jean Damascene Bigirimana1
David K. Tumusiime2,3
Eeva Aartolahti1Kari-Pekka Murtonen1
Katariina Korniloff1- 1Institute of Rehabilitation, JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Jyväskylä, Finland
- 2Department of Physiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda
- 3The Regional Center of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering and eHealth (CEBE), Kigali, Rwanda
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The need for rehabilitation is unmet, especially in low-and middle-income countries such as Rwanda. Digital rehabilitation offers significant potential for delivering rehabilitation services in low-resource settings, and this study examines the socioeconomic challenges affecting the digitalization of rehabilitation. Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and a survey were conducted in Rwanda with rehabilitation professionals to collect data for two different projects. The different datasets were analyzed using thematic analysis and inductive content analysis. As a result, three main concepts were formed: context-related factors, individual-related factors, and digital technology-related factors, which derive from socioeconomic issues. Results suggest that the challenges in implementing digital solutions in rehabilitation settings in Rwanda encompass various socioeconomic domains, including socioeconomic factors, infrastructure, digital competency, regulatory frameworks, and user-related factors. In conclusion, because of multifaceted challenges, systemic-systemic level change is needed to realize the potential of the digitalization of rehabilitation and other health care services in Rwanda.
Keywords: digital rehabilitation1, digitalization2, rehabilitation3, Rwanda4, Socioeconomic Factors5, digital technologies6. (Min Line spacing: Multiple 1, 16 li Font: (Default) Times New Roman Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Received: 31 Aug 2024; Accepted: 10 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jokinen, Oduor, Urimubenshi, Gasana, Bigirimana, Tumusiime, Aartolahti, Murtonen and Korniloff. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kaisa Jokinen, Institute of Rehabilitation, JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Jyväskylä, Finland
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