Feasibility of the Geriatric Activation Program Pellenberg With Caregiver Involvement

To meet the WHO guideline for daily exercise during and after hospitalization, physiotherapists must find ways for geriatric patients to be active outside of therapy time. Geriatric patients require assistance or supervision to exercise safely, yet physiotherapists and nurses are short on time. Instead, by providing carers with tools and instruction, the researchers might turn them into exercise partners for the physiotherapist.

The investigators designed an exercise program (GAPP+Care) customized to the caregiver's ability to exercise safely with their loved one, based on the ideas and exercises of our standard physiotherapy program, the Geriatric Activation Program Pellenberg (GAPP). Through semi-structured interviews, patients and their caregivers were involved in developing and validating GAPP+Care, including the exercise booklet.

GAPP+Care consists of GAPP (the usual physiotherapy treatment) and three additional 30-minute exercise sessions with the caregiver each week (+Care). +Care will continue at home for the first six weeks after discharge, and GAPP will be replaced with physiotherapy performed by a private physiotherapist, as described at discharge (a prescription for home physiotherapy 3 times a week, for 60 sessions F-pathology or 18 sessions).

The initial +Care session is with a ward physiotherapist who will show the caregiver how to utilize the GAPP+Care handbook and the exercises and teach them how to support the patient during the exercises. During hospitalization, one of the three weekly sessions will be led by a ward physiotherapist to reinforce the hands-on skills and knowledge. These physiotherapy-patient-caregiver sessions will consist of two home visits and four phone calls after the patient has been discharged.

The goal of this exploratory study is to see if GAPP+Care is feasible. The researchers want to know how many people are eligible and how willing they are to participate. The researchers also want to assess the program's hindering and facilitating elements, as well as its fidelity and retention rate. Aside from that, the researchers want to evaluate if an effectiveness study and the used outcome measures are viable.

Patients:

Inclusion criteria

• Patients from geriatric rehabilitation unit, with various pathologies
• ≥ 70 years old
• ≥ 10m of walking with walking aid and under supervision
• Berg Balance Scale (BBS) < 30/56
• Medically stable as determined by the attending physician
• Expecting at least 3 weeks of rehabilitation

Exclusion criteria

• No available caregiver
• Unable to understand instructions

Caregivers:

Inclusion criteria

• A person who is willing to support the patient in performing exercises at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes. An informal carer is defined as an unpaid member of a person's social network who helps the patient with activities of daily living.

Exclusion criteria

• Physical unable to support the patient
• Unable to understand instructions

Healthcare providers

Inclusion criteria

• Someone who works on our ward, comes into contact with patients and may experience GAPP+CARE or its effects; nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, social worker, doctor, logistical worker.

Exclusion criteria

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