Are three shorter sessions of physiotherapy each therapy day more effective than one longer session in improving the mobility of patients admitted to a rehabilitation ward after hip fracture?

A new model of physiotherapy rehabilitation to improve outcomes after hip fracture; a randomised trial to establish if three shorter sessions of physiotherapy each therapy day are more effective than one longer session in improving the mobility of patients admitted to a rehabilitation ward after hip fracture

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12617000863336

Enrollment

Registered

2017-06-13

Start date

2017-09-04

Completion date

2018-06-25

Last updated

2019-07-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

The primary aim of this study is to investigate if providing three short 15 minute sessions of physiotherapy each therapy day for patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation after hip fracture is more effective than providing the usual one long 45 minute session each therapy day in improving mobility. The secondary aims of this study are to: * Determine if this model of care reduces length of stay in this patient group * Determine whether more walking is achieved in 3 shorter sessions 5 days/week versus 1 longer session 5 days/week both within and outside of therapy sessions * Determine whether there is an increased chance of returning home with this model of care * Determine if Functional Independence Measure Scores for mobility improve faster in the distributed model * Compare the 30 day readmission rate after discharge in both groups * Determine if the new model of care is acceptable to patients and physiotherapists by means of a brief survey about the project.

Interventions

This study investigates a new model of physiotherapy rehabilitation for patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation at the Peter James Centre after surgery for a fractured hip. It is a randomised controlled trial consisting of an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group will receive 3x 15 minute sessions of physiotherapy 5 days/week and the control group will receive usual care of 1x 45 minute session of physiotherapy 5 days/week. This will commence after admission to inpatient rehabilitation and continue until discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. The physiotherapy for both groups will consist of walking practice, therapeutic exercises and functional task practice. Only frequency and duration of sessions will be different between the two groups. Physiotherapy treatment records will be used to assess fidelity/compliance and content of the program. Separate physiotherapists and allied health assistants with a range of experience levels will independently deliver the program to the intervention and control groups. Information sessions and training will be provided to these staff by the principal researcher. Any new staff commencing during the study period will also be trained. Adherence to the protocol will be ensured by the principal researcher with weekly physiotherapy treatment record checks.

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Parallel

Primary purpose

Treatment

Masking

Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

50 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Admitted to the rehabilitation unit at Peter James Centre Primary diagnosis of fractured hip No co-current injuries Over 50 years of age

Exclusion criteria

Not allowed to weight bear after surgery for the fractured hip co-current injuries eg other fractures, brain injury, cardiac event sustained at the same time as the fractured hip

Outcome results