INCLUDING EXERCISE SELF-MANAGEMENT AS PART OF INPATIENT REHABILITATION IS FEASIBLE, SAFE AND EFFECTIVE FOR PATIENTS WITH COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT.

OBJECTIVE

To test the feasibility, safety and effectiveness of the My Therapy programme for inpatients with mild-moderate cognitive impairment.

DESIGN

Observational pilot study.

PATIENTS

Rehabilitation inpatients with mild-moderate cognitive impairment.

METHODS

During their inpatient admission, participants received My Therapy, a programme that can increase the dose of rehabilitation through independent self-practice of exercises, outside of supervised therapy. Outcomes included My Therapy participation, falls, Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and 10-m walk test. Outcomes were compared with those of participants without cognitive impairment from the original My Therapy study ( = 116) using and independent -tests.

RESULTS

Eight participants with mild-moderate cognitive impairment (mean (standard deviation (SD)) age 89.6 years (4.8); 3 women) were included. All participants completed the My Therapy programme on at least one day of their admission, with no associated falls. Participants had an 8.4 s (SD 5.1) reduction in their 10-m walk test and a 21.5 point (SD 11.1) improvement on FIM scores from admission to discharge. There were no significant between-group differences in feasibility, safety or effectiveness for participants with and without cognitive impairment.

CONCLUSION

This pilot study has shown that including exercise self-management as part of inpatient rehabilitation is feasible, safe and effective for patients with cognitive impairment.