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NCT Number: NCT07351526

Inpatient Post-Acute Rehabilitation For Patients in the Midwest: a Prospective Cohort Study of Clinical Characteristics and Process Outcomes

Rehabilitation improves health outcomes, reduces disability and improves quality of life. There is a significant and emerging body of international evidence to support the benefit and cost effectiveness of specialist rehabilitation services within a modern health service. The demand for rehabilitation services is growing with changes in populations and with the advances in health care and new interventions and technology.

Our overall aim is to explore the outcomes and clinical characteristics of adults who are admitted to a rehabilitation hospital in the Midwest region of Ireland during admission, at the time of their discharge and at 6 months.

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Key information

Conditions

Rehabilitation Complex Patients in Rehabilitation Phase Frailty Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

School of Allied Health, University of Limerick

Limerick, Munster, V94 T9PX, Ireland

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Christina Hayes, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

+35361213081

Orla Holmes, MB, Bch, BAO

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Rose Galvin Professor, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

+35361213081

About this study

Rehabilitation is a dynamic and critical component of the therapeutic continuum and one that is essential if patients are to regain or maintain their life roles, health status and quality of life after serious illness or injury.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends in its definition that priority is given to ensure access, for those in need, to appropriate, timely, affordable and high-quality rehabilitation interventions.

Life expectancy is improving and the population of older persons is growing with increased demand for specialist rehabilitation services. This population is at increased risk for functional decline and increased demand for healthcare services. With older adults accounting for up to 24% of all ED attendees and an anticipated rise in this number, this places increased strain on the healthcare system

The aim of this study is to establish the demographic and clinical characteristics of adults in the Midwest referred, assessed and treated in St Ita's Rehabilitation Hospital in the Mid- West of lreland.

This study will inform on resource requirements of our rehabilitation facilities to ensure that the complexity of the patients are matched by the resources provided. We will also explore the benefits of rehabilitation across a broad range of conditions and evaluate the outcomes for patients including patient reported measures.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients aged 18 and over and admitted to a relevant rehabilitation unit with capacity to provide consent for inclusion.

Exclusion criteria

  • Pregnant women and patients who are deemed not to have capacity to consent.

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

  1. Incidence of functional decline

    Time frame: Baseline

    The number of participants who experience functional decline or do not as measured by the Barthel Index (BI). Functional decline is defined as a net decrease in the number of activities of daily living performed independently as measured by the self-reported BI. The sum of all of the 10 subscales of the BI ranges from 0-20 points where a higher score indicates increased independence.

  2. Incidence of functional decline

    Time frame: From the date on inception into the study until the date of discharge from hospital, assessed up to 6 months

    The number of participants who experience functional decline or do not as measured by the Barthel Index (BI). Functional decline is defined as a net decrease in the number of activities of daily living performed independently as measured by the self-reported BI. The sum of all of the 10 subscales of the BI ranges from 0-20 points where a higher score indicates increased independence.

  3. Incidence of Functional Decline

    Time frame: 6 Months

    The number of participants who experience functional decline or do not as measured by the Barthel Index (BI). Functional decline is defined as a net decrease in the number of activities of daily living performed independently as measured by the self-reported BI. The sum of all of the 10 subscales of the BI ranges from 0-20 points where a higher score indicates increased independence.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Healthcare use

    Time frame: 6 Months

    Number of services that participants were in receipt of following discharge from rehabilitation services including; GP visits, unplanned Emergency Department attendance, Outpatient appointments.

  2. Polypharmacy level

    Time frame: Baseline

    Potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) and potentially omitted medications (POM) using the STOP START criteria. The STOPP/START Screening tools are based on the STOPP/START Prescription criteria which consist of a set of inappropriate combinations of medicines and disease (STOPP) and a set of recommended treatments for given conditions (START). There are 80 STOPP and 34 START criteria and they are grouped by physiological system e.g. cardiovascular.

  3. Polypharmacy level

    Time frame: From the date on inception into the study until the date of discharge from hospital, assessed up to 6 months

    potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) and potentially omitted medications (POM) using the STOP START criteria. The STOPP/START Screening tools are based on the STOPP/START Prescription criteria which consist of a set of inappropriate combinations of medicines and disease (STOPP) and a set of recommended treatments for given conditions (START). There are 80 STOPP and 34 START criteria and they are grouped by physiological system e.g. cardiovascular.

  4. Polypharmacy level

    Time frame: 6 Months

    potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) and potentially omitted medications (POM) using the STOP START criteria. The STOPP/START Screening tools are based on the STOPP/START Prescription criteria which consist of a set of inappropriate combinations of medicines and disease (STOPP) and a set of recommended treatments for given conditions (START). There are 80 STOPP and 34 START criteria and they are grouped by physiological system e.g. cardiovascular.

  5. Frailty

    Time frame: From the date on inception into the study until the date of discharge from hospital, assessed up to 6 months

    Participants will be reviewed at time of discharge from rehabilitation services as to level of frailty using both the clinical frailty scale (CFS) and the identification of seniors at risk (ISAR) frailty screening tools. Both the clinical frailty scale and identification of seniors at risk were recorded at admission and again at discharge to evaluate change in frailty status over the hospital stay. The combination of tools will aim to enable examination of how initial risk screening interacts with frailty status to influence long-term functional trajectories. Higher scores on both the clinical frailty scale and identification of seniors at risk indicate higher levels of frailty and are often associated with worse outcomes. The clinical frailty scale is a 9 point rating scale (1-9) with 9 indicating the highest level of frailty (terminally ill), the identification of seniors at risk is a 6 item screening tool with a score of 2 or greater indicating increased risk of frailty.

  6. Frailty

    Time frame: 6 months

    Participants will be reviewed at time of discharge from rehabilitation services as to level of frailty using both the clinical frailty scale (CFS) and the identification of seniors at risk (ISAR) frailty screening tools. Both the Clinical frailty scale and Identification of seniors at risk were recorded at 6 month follow up to evaluate change in frailty status over the hospital stay. The combination of tools will aim to enable examination of how initial risk screening interacts with frailty status to influence long-term functional trajectories. Higher scores on both the clinical frailty scale and identification of seniors at risk indicate higher levels of frailty and are often associated with worse outcomes. The clinical frailty scale is a 9 point rating scale (1-9) with 9 indicating the highest level of frailty (terminally ill), the identification of seniors at risk is a 6 item screening tool with a score of 2 or greater indicating increased risk of frailty.

  7. Quality of life (EuroQoL-5 dimension 5 level questionnaire)

    Time frame: Baseline

    A questionnaire to evaluate participants health-related quality of life, assessing five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Higher scores indicate higher perception of health related quality of life. Index score (0-1) with 1 being the best and visual analogue scores (0-100) with 100 being the highest rating of overall health.

  8. Quality of life (EuroQoL-5 dimension 5 level questionnaire)

    Time frame: From the date on inception into the study until the date of discharge from hospital, assessed up to 6 months

    A questionnaire to evaluate participants health-related quality of life, assessing five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Higher scores indicate higher perception of health related quality of life. Index score (0-1) with 1 being the best and visual analogue scores (0-100) with 100 being the highest rating of overall health.

  9. Quality of life (EuroQoL-5 dimension 5 level questionnaire)

    Time frame: 6 Months

    A questionnaire to evaluate participants health-related quality of life, assessing five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Index score (0-1) with 1 being the best and visual analogue scores (0-100) with 100 being the highest rating of overall health.

  10. Nursing Home Admission

    Time frame: 6 Months

    Number of participants who were admitted to a nursing home or residential care facility following discharge from rehabilitation services.

  11. Mortality

    Time frame: 6 Months

    The number of participants who died following discharge from rehabilitation services.

  12. Falls

    Time frame: 6 Months

    Number of falls sustained post discharge from rehabilitation services.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Limerick

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Jan 20, 2026
Registry last updated
Jan 20, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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