Effects of a Structured Occupational Therapy Intervention in an Acute Geriatric Unit

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Occupational Therapy

• 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

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2002-11
• Primary Completion: 2003-06
• Study Completion: 2003-06
• Status Verified: 2010-02
• Study First Submitted: 2010-03-23
• Study First Submitted QC: 2010-03-25
• Study First Posted: 2010-03-26
• Last Update Submitted: 2010-04-09
• Last Update Posted: 2010-04-12

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 400

Inclusion Criteria

• 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

Exclusion Criteria

• None

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

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