JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Intelligent rehabilitation technologies are increasingly integrated into rehabilitation practice, creating growing demands for clinicians with competencies spanning rehabilitation, engineering, and emerging technologies. However, evidence remains limited regarding how clinical-stage rehabilitation students develop competencies for technology-enabled rehabilitation practice and how educational and clinical experiences are associated with these competencies.

Objective:

This study aimed to characterize intelligent rehabilitation education and competency among clinical-stage rehabilitation students and to examine educational, clinical, and technology-related factors associated with competency. It further examined whether these associations differed between operational and higher-order competency.

Methods:

A multicenter cross-sectional survey was conducted among clinical-stage students from rehabilitation-related disciplines with clinical placement experience across China. A structured questionnaire assessed professional confidence, educational and clinical technology exposure, training alignment, perceived technology value, clinical-engineering orientation, technology-use context, and intelligent rehabilitation competency. Pathway-specific items assessed current or anticipated competency according to prior educational and clinical technology exposure. Descriptive statistics and multivariable regression analyses were performed.

Results:

Among 515 participants, university educational exposure and hospital-based technology exposure were positively associated with intelligent rehabilitation competency. Adding training alignment, technology value, and clinical–engineering orientation substantially increased the explanatory capacity of the model (R²=0.571), beyond resource exposure alone (R²=0.116). Routine clinical technology use was positively associated with competency (β=0.149, P=.009), whereas the educational breadth × technology breadth interaction was not significant. Technology value showed the strongest association with operational competency (β=0.339, P<.001), whereas clinical–engineering orientation showed the strongest association with higher-order competency (β=0.495, P<.001). Complementary analyses among participants without corresponding prior exposure identified training alignment and clinical–engineering orientation as significant correlates of anticipated competency.

Conclusions:

Intelligent rehabilitation competency was associated with educational and clinical technology exposure as well as training alignment, perceived technology value, and clinical-engineering orientation. Different association patterns were observed for operational and higher-order competency. These findings highlight the importance of connecting interdisciplinary education, clinical experience, and technology-related learning when preparing rehabilitation students for technology-enabled practice.