Online PhD conferral mrs. Pierrette Baschung Pfister
Supervisors: prof.dr. R.A. de Bie, prof.dr. E.D. de Bruin, ETH Zurich/Karolinski Institute, Stockholm
Co-supervisor: dr. R.H. Knols, UH Zurich
Key words: Exercise, blended therapy, tele-rehabilitation, myositis, measurement instrument, strength training
"Blended therapy - an innovative approach to implement and promote adherence to physical exercise training in patients with inflammatory myopathy"
The main aims of this thesis were, 1) to develop an interactive tabled-based exercise application, 2) to evaluate the usability of this application, and 3) to test the feasibility of a blended therapy combining this application with face-to-face physiotherapy sessions for patients with an inflammatory myopathy. To know the best training regime for these patients, we performed a systematic review evaluating the application of exercise training principles and accordingly, evidence-based exercise guidelines were developed. Because the measurement properties of commonly used measurement instruments were not yet known, we also evaluated the measurement quality of two strength tests and a German questionnaire about activity limitation.
