Journal of Novel Physiotherapies
Open Access

Abstract

Question: Does â�?�?Home Rehabilitationâ�? following hip fracture repair improve mobility for nursing home residents? Design: Previously walking nursing home residents (n=240) with hip fractures received 4 weeks of home rehabilitation in their nursing home or usual care. In parallel, families and nursing home staff for the first 30 participants were invited to share their perceptions of the journey for residents at interviews/focus groups. Intervention: Physiotherapy (minimum 3 sessionâ�?�?s week for 4 weeks) focused on restoration of transfers and limited mobility. Outcome Measures: The nursing home life space diameter (NHLSD), mobility status including level of independence and qualitative data organized as a thematic analysis with the assistance of NVivo 10 were collected. Results: Nursing home residents who received â�?�?Home Rehabilitationâ�? mobilized further and more frequently as assessed by the NHLSD (p<0.0001). More â�?�?Home Rehabilitationâ�? participants were reported to have regained independent mobility with a lower burden of care compared to usual care participants. Acute care staff struggled to provide people with dementia mobility retraining and nursing home staffs were ill-equipped to provide post-operative care including mobility retraining and pain management on their return home. Conclusion: Following hip fracture surgery, â�?�?Home Rehabilitationâ�? for nursing home residents was feasible and improved independence with mobility was achieved. Key Practice Points: 1) Strategies need to be developed to engage people who have dementia in early rehabilitation in the acute setting; and 2) mobile nursing home residents with dementia who fractured their hips can improve their mobility levels in response to outreach physiotherapy.

Biography

Email: Maggie.Killington@sa.gov.au