International Journal of Telerehabilitation • telerehab.pitt.edu

EDITORS’ NOTE
ELLEN R. COHN, JANA CASON

ISSUE OVERVIEW
Where is the International Journal of Telerehabilitation (IJT) positioned among journals in the telemedicine and telehealth space? IJT is an online, open (i.e., subscription free) journal that focuses on telerehabilitation -- a segment of telehealth and telemedicine that encompasses many rehabilitation associated disciplines. Because successful telerehabilitation often depends upon interprofessional collaborations, much of the work published within IJT is by at least two authors from different disciplines. Authors in the current issue include persons with collective expertise in the disciplines of architecture, occupational therapy, medicine, physical therapy, and/or software engineering.
An examination of the subject matter published in IJT since its inception in 2008 provides insight into the evolution of telerehabilitation. Readers will note that several current issue papers describe telerehabilitation services delivered in the home environment, with one investigating in-home modifications. Two articles studied the provision of telehealth to persons post-stroke. The therapeutic use of virtual environments is a relatively newly prominent theme.
We posit that multiple factors influence emerging research themes: reimbursement for services rendered, regulations, and most importantly in the case of research articles, trends in research funding. International submissions to the IJT have also shifted, sometimes between continents. The international geographic trends are interesting to follow.
In the current issue, readers will note cautions related to safety and patient selection. Moreover, since some telerehabilitation protocols are best hybrid (i.e., variously incorporating both in-person and online assessments and interventions), IJT welcomes articles that include research conducted in authentic, hybrid conditions. Appropriate patient selection for telerehabilitation services is broached in this issue, and remains a challenge that requires future research.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
IJT could not be produced without the generous efforts of others. We are grateful to new and returning reviewers; Sections Editor, William E. Janes, OTD, MSCI, OTR/L; colleagues at the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Information and Communication Technology Access at the University of Pittsburgh; and, our publishers at the University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh, especially Vanessa Gabler, Electronic Publications Manager. 
We cordially invite submissions to the Fall 2018 issue by mid-September 2018. IJT accepts original research, case studies, viewpoints, technology reviews, book reviews, and country reports that detail the status of telerehabilitation.

Sincerely,
Ellen R. Cohn, PhD, CCC-SLP, ASHA-F, IJT Editor
Jana Cason, DHSc, OTR/L, FAOTA, Senior Associate Editor

International  Journal of Telerehabilitation	•   Vol. 10, No. 1 Spring 2018	•  (10.5195/ijt.2018.6261)	1

  

International Journal of Telerehabilitation • telerehab.pitt.edu

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.	

This journal is published by the University Library System of the University of Pittsburgh as part of its D-Scribe Digital Publishing Program and is cosponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Press.	

2	International  Journal of Telerehabilitation	•   Vol. 10, No. 1 Spring 2018	•   (10.5195/ijt.2018.6261)