Informal care after hip fracture: prospective cohort.

BACKGROUND: Hip fracture is very common and it has life-shattering consequences for older persons. After discharge the older persons need help with even basic everyday activities from formal and informal caregivers. In Scandinavia formal care are well-developed however the presence of informal caregivers likely reflect on the amount of formal care and wears on the informal caregivers. This study explore how often and how much informal care (IC) older persons receive after hip fracture. METHOD: We contacted 244 community-dwelling older persons every two weeks the first twelve weeks after discharge after hip fracture and asked them if they received care from family and/or friends and how much. We used non-parametric statistics and level of significance was 95%. RESULTS: The proportion of older persons receiving IC was 90% and the median amount of IC was 32 hours (IQR 14-66). The number of older persons who received IC was highest the first four weeks after discharge and so was the amount of hours of IC. The older persons that were high-dependence on IC received a median of 66 (IQR 46-107) hours compared to the low-dependent of 11 hours (IQR 2-20). CONCLUSION: IC is very frequent, especially the first two to four weeks after discharge. The median IC was 32 hours from discharge to the 12-week follow-up. However, this figure tended to rise for persons with, among other, reduced functionality and those residing with a partner. IMPLICATIONS: With respect to local differences, the findings in this study are likely applicable to other Scandinavian countries. We strongly suggest that the variation in older person need for informal caregiver be given consideration in the prioritisation of resources. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This prospective cohort study of informal care, was part of a cluster-randomised stepped-wedge clinical controlled trial. Written consent was obtained required by regional ethics committee S-20200070. Data was collected in accordance with the Danish Data Protection Agency (20-21854).

Validity and Responsiveness to Change of the 30-Second Chair-Stand Test in Older Adults Admitted to an Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Few physical performance measurement tools are validated for acutely admitted older adults, and for this reason we aimed to examine the validity and responsiveness to change of the 30-second Chair-Stand Test (30s-CST) used to assess physical performance in older adults admitted to a short-stay unit in an emergency department. METHODS: Construct validity of the 30s-CST, using 8 as a cutoff point for dependency in activities of daily living, was examined using 207 patients. Self-reported information on everyday activities was obtained by asking patients about need for help in bathing, dressing, cooking, cleaning, and shopping. Concurrent validity of the 30s-CST compared with the de Morton Mobility Index (DEMMI) on physical performance of acutely admitted older adults was examined with 156 patients. The analysis of concurrent validity included the entire DEMMI and 2 subsets of DEMMI: "DEMMI walking" and "DEMMI dynamic balance." The responsiveness to change in the 30s-CST compared with DEMMI was examined with 117 patients. All patients were classified as having either low physical performance (30s-CST ≤8) or high physical performance (30s-CST >8); these groups were used in the analysis of validity and responsiveness to change. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Regarding construct validity using 8 as a cutoff point, the study showed a significant difference between patients with low physical performance compared with patients with high physical performance. Moreover, a decrease in the 30s-CST was followed by an increase in the need for help with everyday activities. There was a significant association between the 30s-CST and DEMMI (r = 0.72); for every extra repetition in the 30s-CST, the DEMMI score increased by 4.9. There was a significant association between the 30s-CST and the 2 subsets "DEMMI walking" and "DEMMI dynamic balance"; yet, a pronounced floor effect was found in the subsets. The analysis demonstrated a very wide prediction interval, indicating that DEMMI has a better responsiveness to change than the 30s-CST, especially in older adults with low physical performance. However, the 30s-CST is easier and faster to use than DEMMI. CONCLUSION: This study found a significant difference in the patients' need for help with everyday activities when comparing low and high physical performance groups. The concurrent validity of the 30s-CST was acceptable in assessing physical performance in older adults at the time of admission; the 30s-CST is thus a tool that is easy to use in older adults with acute disease. In contrast, based on very wide prediction intervals, DEMMI demonstrated better responsiveness to change than the 30s-CST, especially in older adults with low physical performance.

The effect on physical performance of a functional assessment and immediate rehabilitation of acutely admitted elderly patients with reduced functional performance: the design of a randomised clinical trial.

INTRODUCTION: Illness and hospitalisation, even of short duration, pose separate risks for permanently reduced functional performance in elderly medical patients. Functional assessment in the acute pathway will ensure early detection of declining performance and form the basis for mobilisation during hospitalisation and subsequent rehabilitation. For optimal results rehabilitation should begin immediately after discharge.The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a systematic functional assessment in the emergency department (ED) of elderly medical patients with reduced functional performance when combined with immediate postdischarge rehabilitation. METHOD AND ANALYSIS: The study is a two-way factorial randomised clinical trial. Participants will be recruited among patients admitted to the ED who are above 65 years of age with reduced functional performance. Patients will be randomly assigned to one of four groups: (1) functional assessment and immediate rehabilitation; (2) functional assessment and rehabilitation as usual; (3) assessment as usual and immediate rehabilitation; (4) assessment and rehabilitation as usual. PRIMARY OUTCOME: 30 s chair-stand test administered at admission and 3 weeks after discharge. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been approved by the Regional Scientific Ethical Committees of Southern Denmark in February 2014. The study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02062541.