Clinical Interventions in Aging (Apr 2018)

Effectiveness of the “Elderly Activity Performance Intervention” on elderly patients’ discharge from a short-stay unit at the emergency department: a quasi-experimental trial

  • Nielsen LM,
  • Maribo T,
  • Kirkegaard H,
  • Petersen KS,
  • Lisby M,
  • Oestergaard LG

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 13
pp. 737 – 747

Abstract

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Louise Moeldrup Nielsen,1,2 Thomas Maribo,3 Hans Kirkegaard,4 Kirsten Schultz Petersen,5 Marianne Lisby,4 Lisa Gregersen Oestergaard2,6 1Department of Occupational Therapy, VIA University College, 2Department of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Aarhus University Hospital, 3Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, DEFACTUM, 4Department of Clinical Medicine, Research Centre for Emergency Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, 5Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, 6Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark Purpose: To examine the effectiveness of the Elderly Activity Performance Intervention on reducing the risk of readmission in elderly patients discharged from a short-stay unit at the emergency department. Patients and methods: The study was conducted as a nonrandomized, quasi-experimental trial. Three hundred and seventy-five elderly patients were included and allocated to the Elderly Activity Performance Intervention (n=144) or usual practice (n=231). The intervention consisted of 1) assessment of the patients’ performance of daily activities, 2) referral to further rehabilitation, and 3) follow-up visit the day after discharge. Primary outcome was readmission (yes/no) within 26 weeks. The study was registered in ClinicalTrial.gov (NCT02078466). Results: No between-group differences were found in readmission. Overall, 44% of the patients in the intervention group and 42% in the usual practice group were readmitted within 26 weeks (risk difference=0.02, 95% CI: [-0.08; 0.12] and risk ratio=1.05, 95% CI: [0.83; 1.33]). No between-group differences were found in any of the secondary outcomes. Conclusion: The Elderly Activity Performance Intervention showed no effectiveness in reducing the risk of readmission in elderly patients discharged from a short-stay unit at the emergency department. The study revealed that 60% of the elderly patients had a need for further rehabilitation after discharge. Keywords: occupational therapy, rehabilitation, performance of daily activities, activities of daily living, acute care

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