Long-term effects of low-frequency home-visit rehabilitation by cooperation with physiotherapists and health care and welfare workers on activities of daily living

Abstract

[Purpose]: A 6-year-and-7-month prospective survey was performed to evaluate long-term effects of low-frequency home-visit rehabilitation performed by physiotherapists in cooperation with health care or welfare workers on basic activites of daily living (ADL) by disabled persons in rehabilitation-deficients areas. [Subjects and Methods]: The subjects were 69 home-dwelling disabled persons in 5 towns or village in northeastern Japan. Home-visit rehabilitation was performed on a monthly basis for 54 of them (intervention group: mean age=69.3 years) with the cooperation of physiotherapists and other health care/welfare workers. [Results]: During the intervention period (mean 13.1-month), the Barthel Index improved significantly for the intervention compared with the reference group (15 persons who did not receive home-visit rehabilitation: mean age=69.6 years), with a multivariable odds ratio of 6.2 (95% confidence interval, 1.6-24.5). However, during the follow-up period (mean 44.2-month) after the intervention, the Barthel Index for the intervention group returned to nearly the baseline level. [Conclusion]: Our results suggest that home-visit rehabilitation performed jointly by physiotherapist and other professionals, even with low frequency, is effective for improving the ADL independence by the disabled rehabilitation-deficient areas, as well as the need for measures to prevent a decline in ADL after the end of intervention.