Effects of a Structured Occupational Therapy Intervention in an Acute Geriatric Unit
- Conditions
- Occupational Therapy
- Interventions
- Other: Occupational therapy intervention
- Registration Number
- NCT01094002
- Lead Sponsor
- Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete
- Brief Summary
Objectives: To compare the benefits of structured occupational therapy intervention by a single geriatric therapist with the benefits of the conventional treatment model in the functional recovery of patients admitted to an acute geriatric unit.
Design: Non-pharmacological randomised clinical trial. Setting: Acute Geriatric Unit, Albacete, Spain. Participants: The trial included 400 patients admitted consecutively over 6 months to an acute geriatric unit for acute illness or exacerbation of a chronic medical condition. Participants were randomised to the occupational therapy intervention or conventional treatment model group; 198 patients received occupational therapy. All patients completed the study. The mean age was 83.5, and 56.8% were women.
Interventions: Needs assessment, iatrogenic prevention, retraining in basic and instrumental activities of daily living, assessment of need for technical aids, instruction for primary caregiver in patient mobilisation techniques, and structured social and occupational motivation as per protocol in three groups of patients (cardiopulmonary disease, stroke, and other conditions) 5 days a week, 30 to 45 minutes a day over the entire hospital stay.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 400
- All patients age 65 or older consecutively admitted to the acute geriatric unit at the Complejo Hospitalario Universitario in Albacete, Spain, between November 2002 and June 2003 for an acute medical illness or exacerbation of a previous chronic condition
- None
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Occupational therapy intervention (OTI) Occupational therapy intervention 198 subjects. The OTI schedule consisted of a daily 45-minute session, Monday through Friday, for the duration of hospitalisation. Activities were carried out in a structured manner and varied according to need and day of admission. On the first day, the patient's needs were analysed, including the need for iatrogenic prevention, retraining in basic and instrumental activities of daily living, technical aids, instruct the primary caregiver in patient mobilisation techniques, and social and occupational motivation. All OTI participants received an average of 5 sessions during hospitalisation.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Functional recovery The day of discharge from hospitalization (average 10 days) Recovery of 10 or more Barthel index points
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Confusional status The day of discharge from hospitalization (average 10 days) Confusion Assessment Method
Death The day of discharge from hospitalization (average 10 days) Hospital stay The day of discharge from hospitalization (average 10 days) Upper limb function improvement The day of discharge from hospitalization (average 10 days) Touching either shoulder blade with the hand, picking up a full glass of water, unbuttoning a button, and cutting with a knife. Improvement was defined as the ability to perform more such functions at discharge compared with admission.
Improvement in gait pattern The day of discharge from hospitalization (average 10 days) Increase of one level on the Holden scale between admission and discharge
Residence change The day of discharge from hospitalization (average 10 days) Institutionalisation and residence change because of a new disability
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete
🇪🇸Albacete, Spain