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Geriatrics research

Everything we have read on geriatrics. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

1,154 PAPERS · PAGE 13 OF 24 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTCohort2021Evaluating Intrinsic Fall Risk Factors After Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: Distinguishing Fallers From Nonfallers.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationSlower walking, weaker legs, poor foot sensation, and side-to-side sway when eyes are closed were linked to more falls in people with incomplete spinal cord injury. These factors help flag risk, but no single test predicts falls reliably.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021Effect of Action Observation Therapy in the Rehabilitation of Neurologic and Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Systematic Review.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationAction Observation Therapy improves motor recovery in stroke and Parkinson's disease, with strong evidence for upper limb function and balance. It shows moderate benefit for orthopedic pain and range of motion. However, it does not help children with cerebral palsy or improve cognition in dementia.
• PTOTQualitative2021Perspectives of individuals with chronic spinal cord injury following novel balance training involving functional electrical stimulation with visual feedback: a qualitative exploratory study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationFive people with incomplete spinal cord injury described a balance program using electrical stimulation and visual feedback as helping them feel stronger and more stable. They reported doing more household tasks and going out in the community. They wanted more sessions to keep improving.
• OTSLPOther2021Evaluation of the National Task Group-Early Detection Screen for Dementia: Sensitivity to 'mild cognitive impairment' in adults with Down syndrome.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDFor adults with Down syndrome, memory and language concerns on the NTG-EDSD screen were informative for early decline, but the total score was weak and produced many false positives. Use it with other clinical information.
• OTSurvey2021Video Telehealth Occupational Therapy Services for Older Veterans: National Survey Study.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesMost surveyed VA occupational therapists had not used video telehealth with older veterans. Those who did reported better access to care but faced significant barriers like inadequate physical space. Clinician attitude was a stronger driver of use than institutional support.
• PTOTSLPRCT2021Feasibility and effect of interactive telerehabilitation on balance in individuals with chronic stroke: a pilot study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationFor chronic stroke, Kinect-based telerehabilitation improved balance similarly to conventional physiotherapy. However, the study was conducted in a hospital room rather than a home, and the small sample size limits confidence in these findings.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021One-year longitudinal study on spinal kyphosis and respiratory function in community-dwelling older Japanese adults who require long-term care or support.Journal of physical therapy scienceSpinal kyphosis worsened significantly over one year in older adults requiring long-term care, but respiratory function and muscle mass remained stable. This suggests postural changes can progress without immediate loss of breathing capacity in this group.
• OTOther2021Adapting a Person's Home in 3D Using a Mobile App (MapIt): Participatory Design Framework Investigating the App's Acceptability.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologiesNine OTs and five relatives found a 3D home-scanning app acceptable for remote assessments. It generated room maps in under five minutes, allowing therapists to measure spaces and view environments without a home visit, though scanning required assistance for complex tasks.
• PTOTSLPNarrative Review2021Motor Dysfunction in REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Rehabilitation Framework for Prodromal Synucleinopathy.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairPeople with isolated REM sleep behavior disorder often show subtle motor signs years before a Parkinson's diagnosis. The authors propose a framework for early exercise and rehabilitation, but note there are no trials proving these interventions prevent or slow the disease.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2021Healthcare-seeking behavior and awareness of physical therapy among Japanese residents in Thailand: a descriptive study.Journal of physical therapy scienceJapanese residents in Thailand mostly use hospitals, not physical therapy clinics. Younger groups used PT more than older adults, who preferred prevention. Word-of-mouth was the main source of healthcare information.
• PTOTCohort2021Relationship between gait speed and trunk muscles in frail elderly individuals.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn 12 frail older adults, thicker lower abdominal and deep core muscles correlated with faster walking. This links trunk structure to gait speed but does not prove that strengthening these muscles improves walking or prevents falls.
• PTOTSLPOther2021Factors associated with falls in community-dwelling older adults: an analysis based on subscales of the frailty screening index.Journal of physical therapy scienceFalls in older adults were linked to three specific frailty signs: not walking weekly, feeling slower, and unexplained tiredness. These items predicted falls better than the total frailty score. Check these three questions when screening community-dwelling patients.
• PTOTCohort2021Shedding light on light exposure in elderly with intellectual disabilities.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRElderly people with intellectual disabilities in group homes spend their day in low light. They rarely get the bright exposure linked to better sleep and mood, especially on weekends. This is a descriptive finding, not proof that lighting changes cause their health issues.
• PTOTSLPOther2021Generalizing the predictive relationship between 1-month motor skill retention and Rey-Osterrieth Delayed Recall scores from nondemented older adults to individuals with chronic stroke: a short report.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding visuospatial memory test scores to prediction models modestly improved accuracy for 1-month motor skill retention in older adults and people with stroke. The benefit was small and based on very few stroke patients, so it is not yet a clinical tool.
• PTOTRCT2021Executive Function Moderates Functional Outcomes of Engagement Strategies During Rehabilitation in Older Adults.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationNo overall difference between Enhanced Medical Rehabilitation and standard physical and occupational therapy was found in this exploratory analysis. Higher clock drawing scores were associated with higher discharge function in patients receiving the Enhanced Medical Rehabilitation approach.
• PTOTSLPOther2021Identifying hearing impairment and the associated impact on the quality of life among the elderly residing in retirement homes in Pretoria, South Africa.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir KommunikasieafwykingsMost elderly residents in South African retirement homes failed hearing screens, with 77% referred for further evaluation. Self-reported hearing difficulties were significantly associated with reduced quality of life. Many participants had never heard of an audiologist, and hearing aid users reported challenges with device maintenance.
• OTOther2020Development of Learning Media for the Elderly to Promote Child Health in the Community.Occupational therapy internationalGrandparents caring for young children most often needed help with daily self-care. A web-based media package for brushing, eating, dressing, bathing, and toileting was rated easy to use in a trial of 58 users, but no child outcomes were tested.
• OTOther2020The Development of Leisure Participation Assessment Tool for the Elderly.Occupational therapy internationalA new Korean assessment measures how often older adults engage in leisure, how satisfied they are, and what stops them. It showed strong consistency across items and stable results over two weeks, helping therapists identify meaningful leisure beyond just activity lists.
• PTOTQualitative2020Clinical Utility of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure in Older Adult Rehabilitation and Nursing Homes: Perceptions among Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists in Spain.Occupational therapy internationalSpanish therapists reported older clients felt heard and more involved when COPM goals were set with them. Many clients struggled naming priorities and rating performance versus satisfaction, and time or institutional constraints limited routine use.
• OTQualitative2021Use of Measuring Tools in Practice Development Projects: A Critical Perspective.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieStandardised assessments often categorise older adults by loss rather than capacity, potentially conflicting with person-centred goals. While these tools justify resource allocation, they may pressure patients to conform to medicalised norms of 'active ageing', ignoring individual values and social context.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Visiting Out-of-Home Places When Living With Dementia: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study: Visiter des lieux hors du domicile lorsque l'on vit avec une démence: étude transversale observationnelle.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapiePeople with dementia visit fewer places overall, but the loss is uneven. They retain healthcare, home, and close social visits, yet abandon banks, pharmacies, and cultural venues. This creates specific gaps in daily life that require targeted support rather than general advice to 'go out'.
• PTOTCohort2021Correlates of improvement in the care need levels of older adults with disabilities: a two-year follow-up study.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn older adults using day-care services, better baseline cognitive, self-care, bladder and bowel control, and social-cognition scores were linked to improved care need levels over two years. Walking and strength tests did not differ between groups.
• OTOther2021Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Scale A-ONE: An Italian Cross-Sectional Study.Occupational therapy internationalIn 70 Italian adults with brain disorders, A-ONE daily-living scores were stable when rated by trained occupational therapists and matched Barthel scores except communication. The communication domain tracked Barthel scores poorly, so it can support OT assessment, not prove treatment works.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021How wearable sensors have been utilised to evaluate frailty in older adults: a systematic review.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationWearable sensors show promise for objectively identifying frailty in older adults, but current evidence is too varied to recommend a specific device or placement. Physical activity and gait speed appear most useful, though definitions differ widely across studies.
• OTSurvey2020Current practices and factors affecting evidence-based occupational therapy practice for patients with dementia in Japan.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTJust under half of surveyed Japanese occupational therapists reported practicing evidence-based care frequently. The strongest barrier was self-rated ability to understand scientific papers, followed by access to information and availability of advice from colleagues.
• PTOTSystematic Review2021Leisure and Productivity in Older Adults with Cancer: A Systematic Review.Occupational therapy internationalCancer limits social leisure and physical activity in older adults, with 14% to 18% reporting social restrictions. Patients often abandon valued tasks for low-demand activities. Evidence for occupational therapy interventions is sparse, relying mostly on case reports rather than trials.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Validity of the Rotterdam Elderly Pain Observation Scale for institutionalised cognitively impaired Dutch adults.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRThe Rotterdam Elderly Pain Observation Scale reliably detects pain in institutionalised adults with intellectual disabilities. A score of 3 or higher indicates likely pain, though specificity is moderate. It also appears valid for subgroups with autism or Down syndrome, despite small sample sizes in those analyses.
• PTOTPilot2021A smartphone-based online system for fall detection with alert notifications and contextual information of real-life falls.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA smartphone system detected 27 of 37 reported falls over 90 days, but missed 10 and raised 45 false alerts. It captured fall location, weather, and activity context.
• OTSurvey2021Selection of Comprehensive Assessment Categories Based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health for Elderly Patients with Heart Failure: A Delphi Survey among Registered Instructors of Cardiac Rehabilitation.Occupational therapy internationalJapanese cardiac rehabilitation experts selected 58 ICF categories for assessing elderly heart failure patients. They prioritised body function and activity items, but chose far fewer environmental factors than international core sets. This list is a consensus proposal, not a validated tool.
• OTSLPOther2021Auditory and Visual Integration for Emotion Recognition and Compensation for Degraded Signals are Preserved With Age.Trends in hearingOlder adults recognized emotions less accurately than young adults across all conditions. However, they integrated audio and video just as well and compensated for degraded sound equally. They did not show the expected 'positivity effect' for happy faces.
• OTCase Report2021The application of an information support robot to reduce agitation in an older adult with Alzheimer's disease living alone in a community dwelling: a case study.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTIn one woman living alone with Alzheimer's, a robot giving timed daily cues reduced frequent wandering. The robot's content was designed by an occupational therapist to match her specific memory and time-orientation needs.
• OTOther2021An examination of the psychometric properties of the occupational identity questionnaire for community-living elderly who require care.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOTA 14-item self-report questionnaire helped older adults in Japan describe past self, present and future expectations, and current satisfaction. It was consistent as a self-report, but weakly matched therapist-rated occupational identity, so use it as the client's voice, not a replacement for clinical interview.
• PTOTSurvey2021Malnutrition is associated with depression in Japanese older adults requiring long-term care or support.Journal of physical therapy scienceDepression scores were significantly linked to malnutrition risk in older adults needing long-term care. Higher depression scores predicted malnutrition risk. Specific depressive feelings like emptiness and loss of interest were more common in those at nutritional risk.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2021Psychological interventions with older adults during inpatient postacute rehabilitation: A systematic review.Rehabilitation psychologyPsychological interventions for older adults in inpatient rehab lack high-quality evidence. Anxiety showed no significant improvement. Depression results were mixed and unreliable due to high risk of bias. Clinicians cannot assume these therapies work in this setting.
• PTOTSLPOther2022Examining social determinants in use of assistive technology for race/ethnic groups of older adults.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyOlder adults with activity limitations had over seven times the odds of using assistive technology. Black older adults had higher odds of use than Whites, while Asians had lower odds. Health insurance increased use for Whites and Hispanics, but having a personal doctor was the key factor for Black patients.
• PTOTCohort2022Functional motor improvement during inpatient rehabilitation among older adults with traumatic brain injury.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationMost older adults with TBI in inpatient rehab made meaningful motor gains: 84.1% improved by at least nine points and 68.6% by 17 points on a 13-to-91 motor independence score. Lowest baseline scores could reach 17-point gains if stay exceeded 10 days.
• PTOTCohort2021Associations of Multiple Chronic Conditions With Physical Performance and Falls Among Older Adults With Back Pain: A Longitudinal, Population-based Study.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationOlder adults with back pain and multiple chronic conditions experienced faster physical decline and higher fall risk over six years. Arthritis was the most consistent predictor of worsening function and falls. Screen for arthritis and multimorbidity to identify patients at highest risk of mobility loss.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022COVID-19 positivity rates, hospitalizations and mortality of adults with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities in Ontario, Canada.Disability and health journalAdults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Ontario were more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than other adults. Once infected, they were 2.21 times more likely to be hospitalized and 2.23 times more likely to die within 30 days. Risks were highest in younger adults.
• PTOTCohort2021Association of Lifetime TBI and Military Employment with Late Life ADL Functioning: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationOlder adults with a past head injury involving loss of consciousness reported more difficulties with daily activities at study entry than those without such injury. However, the rate at which these difficulties increased over time was not significantly different between the groups.
• OTCohort2021Age- and sex-specific predictors of inpatient rehabilitation facility discharge destination for adult patients with traumatic brain injury.Brain injuryOlder adults with TBI were discharged home less often than younger adults: 80% versus 89%. No consistent patient or facility factors explained much of this pattern.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Repetitive Traumatic Brain Injury Among Older Adults.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationOlder adults with a first head injury face a 3% annual risk of a second one. Epilepsy, dementia, Parkinson's, depression, and atrial fibrillation significantly raise this risk. These factors should trigger aggressive fall prevention and close monitoring for further head trauma.
• PTOTOther2021Muscle activation strategies of people with early-stage Parkinson's during walking.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationPeople with early-stage Parkinson's showed significantly higher muscle co-activation, lower modulation, and greater asymmetry in ankle muscles during walking compared to controls. These differences were present even in those with low clinical gait scores, suggesting wearable sensors may detect subtle gait impairment earlier than standard observation.
• PTOTOther2021Concurrent validity of human pose tracking in video for measuring gait parameters in older adults: a preliminary analysis with multiple trackers, viewing angles, and walking directions.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationVideo pose tracking accurately measures step time and cadence in older adults, but fails to reliably measure step width or variability. Clinicians should use these tools only for temporal gait metrics, not for assessing lateral stability or step consistency.
• OTOther2021Cognitive Correlates of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Performance in Parkinson Disease Without Dementia.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationPeople with Parkinson disease without dementia needed more cueing and took longer on complex daily tasks, even when standard cognitive test scores were similar. Real task testing may reveal problems that standard tests miss.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Within-subject variation in the cognitive timed up and go test as an explanatory variable in fall risk in patients with parkinson's disease.Journal of rehabilitation medicineIn Parkinson's disease, greater within-session variation in the cognitive Timed Up and Go test time strongly predicts recurrent falls. A cut-off of 1.53 seconds identified recurrent fallers with acceptable accuracy. Single-trial testing may miss this risk signal.
• PTOTSLPRCT2021Kinect-based rapid movement training to improve balance recovery for stroke fall prevention: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationKinect-based rapid movement training improved balance scores in chronic stroke survivors, matching the gains seen with conventional physiotherapy. It did not, however, make participants faster at reacting to a simulated fall compared to standard care.
• PTOTSurvey2021Survey of transfemoral amputee experience and priorities for the user-centered design of powered robotic transfemoral prostheses.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationTransfemoral amputees using microprocessor knees reported higher autonomy, satisfaction, and daily prosthesis use than those with mechanical knees. Both groups prioritized stability and comfort over running capability. Cost sensitivity did not correlate with income, but rather with the level of insurance reimbursement.
• PTOTOther2021Abnormal Gait Movements Prior to a Near Fall in Individuals After Stroke.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationIn the single step before a near fall, stroke patients slowed down, took longer to complete the step, and shifted their body weight side-to-side more than usual. Therapists should watch for these specific changes in gait to anticipate instability.
• PTOTSystematic Review2022Systematic Review of the Importance of Hip Muscle Strength, Activation, and Structure in Balance and Mobility Tasks.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationStronger hip abductors generally mean better balance and mobility in young and older adults, but not always in middle-aged groups. Higher fat inside the gluteus medius muscle is linked to falls in older adults. Activation timing varies by age and task.
• PTOTOther2022Deep learning approach to estimate foot pressure distribution in walking with application for a cost-effective insole system.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationA deep learning model estimated full-foot pressure from just nine sensors in young and older adults walking comfortably. It outperformed a fuzzy logic model and worked with a low-cost insole prototype, though accuracy was lower for older adults.