Factors Associated With Walking in Older Medical Inpatients.
Ruth McCullagh, Dahly Darren, N Frances Horgan and 1 others
PMID 33543067WHAT IT FOUND
In older medical inpatients, assigned bedrest and devices or treatments that hampered walking were the strongest barriers to daily step count.
Higher baseline physical performance predicted more walking, while pain and fatigue did not significantly reduce activity.
Key findings
01Assigned bedrest and devices or treatments that hampered walking were the only dynamic factors significantly associated with reduced walking in fully adjusted models.
02A 1-unit increase in baseline Short Physical Performance Battery score was associated with a 15% increase in daily step count.
03Pain and fatigue were not significantly associated with reduced walking activity in the fully adjusted model.
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 exploratory and limited to older medical inpatients, so results may not apply to surgical or neurologic populations. Dynamic factors were measured dichotomously, which may have weakened their observed effect on walking activity. Weekend data was not collected, missing potential differences in hospital activity. The percentage of proxy reports for fear of falling and quality of life was not recorded.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that pain and fatigue are the primary reasons for low activity in these patients, as they were not significant barriers in the adjusted model. Focus instead on removing bedrest orders and devices that physically hinder walking.