Rehabilitation technology for hospitalised older adults: a scoping review

There is limited information on rehabilitation technology and its ability to support hospitalised older adults. This review aims to examine the extent and types of rehabilitation technology used for hospitalised older adults, assess technology readiness levels (TRLs), identify outcome variables and evaluate the level of evidence.

A scoping review was conducted across six electronic databases (Medline, PsycInfo, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and Scopus) to evaluate studies investigating the use of rehabilitation technology among hospitalised older adults, in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines.

The search yielded 5310 records, with 23 meeting inclusion criteria and included for final analysis. Robotics were the most common rehabilitation technology, in six studies, followed by games in five studies, virtual reality in four studies and mobile applications in three studies. Rehabilitation technology mainly addressed functional mobility and physical performance, and functional independence and activities of daily living. Although the median TRL was high, with 8 studies achieving Level 1b evidence quality, variability in outcome measures, participants and intervention protocols limits the strength of available evidence.

Rehabilitation technologies show promise for supporting hospitalised older adults; however, more research is needed to determine feasibility, cost-effectiveness and implementation in clinical practice.