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. 2024 Oct 16:11:e59915.
doi: 10.2196/59915.

Multidisciplinary Home-Based Rehabilitation Program for Individuals With Disabilities: Longitudinal Observational Study

Patricio Barría  1   2 , Asterio Andrade  1 , Daniel Gomez-Vargas  3 , Alejandro Yelincic  1 , Flavio Roberti  3 , Eduardo Bahamonde  1 , Rolando Aguilar  2 , Bessie Cordova  1
Affiliations

Multidisciplinary Home-Based Rehabilitation Program for Individuals With Disabilities: Longitudinal Observational Study

Patricio Barría et al. JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol. .

Abstract

Background: Disability affects a significant portion of the global population nowadays, necessitating innovative approaches to access rehabilitation processes. Home-based rehabilitation has emerged as a beneficial approach, offering comfort and context-specific therapy.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the impact of a multidisciplinary home-based rehabilitation program for individuals with moderate neuromusculoskeletal disabilities in terms of motor function and mood.

Methods: A total of 270 participants with median age of 66 (IQR 20-98) years were recruited from the National Disability Registry of Chile. The intervention involved a multidisciplinary team composed of 49 health care professionals providing personalized treatment plans over 4 months (32 sessions for physical therapy, 8 sessions for occupational therapy, 4 sessions for nutrition, 8 sessions for psychology, and 4 sessions for nursing and podiatry). This program also included 2 medical evaluations (at the beginning and the end) to monitor clinical progress in terms of motor function and mental health, using the Berg Balance Scale and Beck Depression Inventory, respectively.

Results: The home-based rehabilitation program showed significant improvements (P<.001) in motor function and balance with a reduction in fall risk. Specifically, the Berg Balance Scale score decreased close to 15% after the home-based rehabilitation program for all enrolled participants. On the other hand, depression levels showed no significant changes (P=.27), with percentages of variation less than 8% between the 2 assessed conditions. In this sense, participants remained with the same mild depression level (14 of 63) concerning the Beck Depression Inventory score.

Conclusions: This study concludes that personalized home-based rehabilitation programs are effective in enhancing motor function and balance, particularly in individuals with neurological conditions. On the other hand, the findings in terms of mood advocate for further exploration of psychological support within such programs to enhance overall patient well-being.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06537791; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06537791.

Keywords: disabilities; home physiotherapy; home-based therapy; mood disorder; motor disorder; motor function; occupational therapy; patient care; personalized care; physical therapy; psychological therapy; rehabilitation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Enrollment diagram implemented in this study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Histogram of age distribution of participants.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean (SD) of the Berg Balance Scale score across the age spectrum for the baseline and home-based program.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Distribution plot of Berg Balance Scale scores for the baseline and home-based program.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Distribution plot of Berg Balance Scale scores for neurological and musculoskeletal diseases.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Mean (SD) of the Beck Depression Inventory-II score across the age spectrum for the baseline and home-based program.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Distribution of Beck Depression Inventory scores for the baseline and home-based program.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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