Purpose: To evaluate short and long-term effects of a multifactorial and multidisciplinary in-patient municipality intervention including training of activities of daily living, cardiovascular exercise, resistance training and social activities on quality-of-life, need-of-care, and physical function in older adults at risk of further functional decline.
Method: A cohort study including data collected rigorously during 3.5 years at an in-patient municipality rehabilitation center in Aalborg, Denmark. Patients received a multifactorial and multidisciplinary intervention. Outcomes were quality-of-life (EQ5D), weekly need-of-care hours, and test of physical functioning (sit-to-stand, 6-min walking test, tandem balance).
Results: Data was collected from 532 patients (63.3% women). The median [5; 95 percentiles] age was 79 [55; 92] years with a length-of-stay of 21 [8; 55] days. The mean (95% CI) EQ5D index score showed a clinically relevant improvement from admission 0.46 (0.44; 0.48) to discharge 0.69 (0.67; 0.71) and there was no decline 6-month postdischarge 0.67 (0.64; 0.70). The weekly need-of-care decreased significantly by 7.2 (6.6, 7.9) h from a mean of 9.8 h before admission to 2.6 h 6-month postdischarge. Sit-to-stand improved from 6.3 (6.0; 6.7) to 9.3 (8.9; 9.6) repetitions, 6-min walking test from 147 (138; 156) to 217 (207; 227) m, and tandem balance from 20.7 (19.8; 21.6) to 25.2 (24.8; 26.2) s.
Conclusion: Our results were remarkable and highlight that a well-structured multifactorial and interdisciplinary intervention with a clear aim and inclusion criteria related to functional decline may lead to long-term clinically relevant improvements in functionally declining older adults. Future studies should, however, explore similar interventions in comparable populations preferably in randomized controlled designs.
Keywords: Frailty; In-patient care; Multidisciplinary rehabilitation intervention; Need-of-care; Physical functioning; Quality of life.