The use of virtual reality in the management of children and teenagers with sickle cell disease after stroke in Democratic Republic of Congo: clinical implementation, users’ acceptance and validation study.

Summary

Due to genetic and environmental factors, the region of Katanga in DR of Congo, is the most severely affected by sickle cell disease. These genetic variations also cause patients to develop more severe forms and are at much higher risk for stroke from childhood and adolescence. There is almost no rehabilitation care for these patients, who will therefore have important motor and cognitive disabilities throughout their lives. The use of virtual reality has shown promising results in the management of stroke to reduce motor and cognitive sequelae. However, the majority of these studies were conducted in high-income countries and with adult patients. Therefore, the objective of this project is to test the use of virtual reality in the rehabilitation of children and adolescents with sickle cell disease after stroke in Congo. We will first train the healthcare professionals, then assess the acceptability of this new technology (patients, family and clinicians) and finally we will perform a validation study to determine the level of evidence of this intervention to improve balance and cognitive functions in this local context.

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