Effects of liaison between physiotherapists and occupational therapists for home-visit rehabilitation: preliminary study.
Katsutoshi Asano, Takayoshi Yamaga, Hitoshi Mutai and 2 others
PMID 31527995WHAT IT FOUND
Basic daily living did not differ between older adults receiving coordinated physiotherapy and occupational therapy and those receiving one discipline alone.
The coordinated group had higher activity and social participation. This is a small cross-sectional study.
Key findings
01Basic daily living did not differ significantly between the liaison group and the single-intervention group (Barthel median 70 vs 77.25, p=0.45).
02Total instrumental activity and social participation was significantly higher in the liaison group (Frenchay median 19 vs 11.5, p=0.01, on a 45-point scale).
03The liaison group had significantly higher scores for outdoor domestic chores (median 2.5 vs 0.5, p=0.01) and outdoor activities (median 9 vs 5, p<0.01).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that liaison caused the observed differences. Only 18 participants were analysed, and 9 prospective participants were excluded, so the study was very small. The authors state allocation may have been biased by basic attributes or disease severity. Evaluation was not blinded, and the single-intervention group combined either physiotherapy alone or occupational therapy alone, so the contribution of each discipline cannot be separated. The paper reports several outcomes without naming which one was primary.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that liaison between physiotherapists and occupational therapists caused better activity or quality of life. This was a small cross-sectional study, and the authors state allocation may have been biased. The liaison group received both physiotherapy and occupational therapy, so the effect of any single component cannot be separated.