Telerehabilitation in Geriatric Patients at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark

Summary

Background Older patients admitted to an Emergency Department (ED) are dependent on assistive devices and almost 16 % have no gait function. It seems appropriate to identify patients who need physical exercises immediately after discharge to avoid further functional decline. New IT technologies make it possible to both supervise the exercises and communicate with the patients via video conferencing equipment. Until now no studies have examined if the Otago Exercise Program (OEP) supervised by video conferencing may enhance motivation and maintain or improve physical functional capacity in acute elderly patients.

Hypothesis Early telerehabilitation performed in groups based on the OEP is compared with traditional exercise programs offered in the community centers in geriatric patients after hospital discharge from acute care.

The study is a randomized, controlled study conducted at Aarhus University Hospital (AUH). The population is elderly patients ≥65 years, residents in the Municipality of Aarhus and admitted acutely from there own home to the ED.

Telerehabilitation Group (TG) will start telerehabilitation first to second week after discharge. After the initial two training sessions, the patient will be included in a TG. When there is a group of two to three participants the group will stop including more members in that group in order to achieve the expected benefits of group exercising. It will be possible for physiotherapists to follow the team on the screen and to communicate with the participants. In addition, the participants may communicate with each other. The following four weeks the patients will exercise on their own in their training groups on appointed times via videoconferencing equipment.

The Control Group will receive the usual training offered by the municipality. Participants in both groups will be tested with the same instruments at baseline and after four and eight weeks and at six months.

Perspective If the presented project indicates that the older target group may benefit from telerehabilitation immediately after discharge, elderly patients may increase their Quality of Life and the municipalities may experience public savings.

Telerehabilitation may be a good alternative for patients who aren't able to receive training at the community center for physical reasons. Telerehabilitation may be one of the means to meet the challenge of the increasing proportion of elderly people in Denmark.

Conditions

• Frail Elderly Syndrome

Interventions

OTHER

Telerehabilitation Group

The telerehabilitation Group receives physiotherapy supervised exercises on-line. The Community Center Group receives the traditionel training offer in the municipality Center for older people.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Aarhus

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Bodil K.B. Jørgensen, MHS · AUH, Department of Geriatric, Palle Juul-Jensens Bld 8200 Aarhus N, DK

• Else marie S. Damsgaard, Professor · AUH, Department of Geriatric, Palle Juul-Jensens Bld. 99, 8200 Aarhus N, Dk

• Merete Gregersen, PhD · AUH, Department of Geriatric, Palle Juul-Jensens Bld. 99, 8200 Aarhus N, Dk

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-03-01

Primary Completion

2019-10-01

Completion

2019-10-01

Countries

• Denmark

Study Locations