Evaluation of the Short-Term Restorative Care program: Effects on physical functioning

Objective: The Short-Term Restorative Care program is an 8-week multidisciplinary early intervention funded by the Australian Government that aims to reverse or slow the functional decline of older Australians. Despite the large investment of tax-payer money to fund the program, very little peer-reviewed literature exists examining the ability of the program to deliver on its aims.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Data were collected from an aged care provider (BallyCara Ltd) located in Australia.

Participants: Historical data from 1074 participants were analysed.

Outcome measures: This study reported descriptives of the population that undertook the program and the activities completed by participants during the program, and investigated if the program is associated with changes across four domains of function (Modified Barthel Index, Lower Extremity Functional Scale, Upper Extremity Functional Index and Berg Balance Scale).

Results: Findings suggest the program results in statistically significant improvements (p ≤ .0001) in disability and physical functioning as measured by the Modified Barthel Index, Lower Extremity Functional Scale, Upper Extremity Functional Index and Berg Balance Scale tools. Such findings validate the ability of the program to slow or reverse functional decline.

Conclusions: This study will help to inform future modifcations to the Short-Term Restorative Care program as well as inform program development of similar interventions.