[One-Year Course of Geriatric Rehabilitation Candidates with and Without Outpatient Geriatric Rehabilitation Care...

The multicentre, prospective, controlled cohort study examines whether geriatric patients with or without participation in outpatient geriatric rehabilitation (AGRV) in Schleswig-Holstein differ with regard to the characteristics of independence, mobility, pain intensity, quality of life, need for support, changing their place of residence or utilization of hospital treatment or other forms of non-pharmaceutical therapy in the course of one year.

Between May 2013 and April 2016 patients for whom geriatricians had recommended AGRV at five locations were interviewed four times within a year by telephone. The data were analyzed regarding the development within the groups as well as under the aspect of the different types of medical care (AGRV performed/not performed).

At the beginning and in the second half of the study period, the two groups (122 persons without AGRV, 283 with at least 15 days of AGRV) did not differ significantly in any of the outcome parameters, and the null hypothesis (no difference between the groups in the Barthel Index after one year) was accepted. Patients with AGRV achieved faster progress in terms of their mobility and quality in life.

AGRV enables many rehabilitation patients to improve their mobility more quickly. If the speed of achieving the therapeutic goal is of minor importance, outpatient physiotherapy and ergotherapy is sufficient for many patients. The Barthel Index is of limited use for follow-up of AGRV candidates.