Occupational Therapy intervention in the training of activities of daily living with patients affected by COVID-19 in inpatient units of a university hospital

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 causes multisystemic compromises, resulting in functional impairments, mainly related to the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Therefore, the occupational therapist is one of the professionals needed to favor the rehabilitation process. Objective: To analyze the proportion of ADLs training and the main activities that were trained with patients with COVID-19. Method: This is a documental study developed in a teaching hospital in the southeast region of Brazil. Occupational therapy records were analyzed in electronic medical records of patients admitted to COVID-19 infirmaries between June 2020 and January 2021. Results: The prevalence of occupational therapy attendances was 53.1%. The patients who were prioritized were those restricted to bed, with worse functionality and longer hospital stay. In all, 413 attendances were performed; the average per patient was three, the minimum was one, and the maximum was 15. The proportion of ADLs training was 76.9%. The most trained activities in the infirmaries by the occupational therapy team were feeding (96.8%), personal hygiene (93.9%), and functional mobility (59.8%). Conclusion: The development of this study promoted the discussion of the careful multidimensional analysis performed by occupational therapists to carry out ADLs training with patients diagnosed with Covid-19 hospitalized in wards. Furthermore, it brought important results related to the profile of the patients seen, the proportions of interventions aimed at ADLs training and the elements that guided this practice.