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| Photo on Foter.com |
Article for Review: Parsons, M., Parsons, J., Rouse, P.,
Pillai, A., Mathieson, S., Parsons, R., Smith, C., Kenealy, T. (2017).
Supported Discharge Teams for older people in hospital acute care: a randomised
controlled trial. Age and Aging. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afx169
Population: Individuals aged 65+ who did not require ongoing acute hospital-based treatment,
had the potential for partial or complete recovery with suitable home
rehabilitation for 6 weeks and were deemed unlikely to recuperate on their own.
Intervention: This RCT compared an early Supported
Discharge Team, START (Supported Transfer & Accelerated Rehabilitation
Team), to usual care in New Zealand. The SMART service consists of healthcare
assistants, registered nurses, and allied health practitioners (physiotherapy
and occupational therapy). Home-based
functional rehabilitation (e.g.
progressively increasing walking distance, sit-to-stands, lying-in-bed to
standing, carrying groceries home from shops and putting away in cupboards) was delivered up to four
times a day, 7 days a week, for up to 6 weeks. Patients
are supported to develop meaningful distal goals which are reinterpreted into a
therapy ladder to support development of a care-plan utilising functional
rehabilitation principles.
Key findings: Supported Discharge Teams that include
occupational therapy can:
- Support older people with a variety of conditions to be discharged earlier from hospital
- Can reduce risk of readmission to hospital for older people
- Have an important role to play in increasing bed capacity of hospitals
Bottom line for OT: Occupational therapists have the skills to
provide the intervention outlined in this article. This article provides
further evidence that occupational therapy services can reduce hospital
readmission and save money.
Post by Catherine Lloyd, fieldwork student with CAOT-BC.
#OT365
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