NCT05926908

Hospital-Induced Immobility

Hospital-Induced Immobility - A Backstage Story of Lack of Chairs, Time, and Assistance

• Status: Completed
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 596 (actual)
• Sponsor: Rigshospitalet, Denmark · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Inactivity and bedrest during hospitalisation have numerous negative consequences, and it is especially important that older patients are mobile during hospitalisation. In this study the investigators aimed to identify whether the introduction of formal education of clinical staff and a Mobilisation Initiative could increase mobilisation of patients in a geriatric and a medical ward. Furthermore, the investigators wanted to explore patients' and health care staffs' view on facilitators and barriers for mobilisation during hospitalisation

Detailed description

Staying in bed and being inactive during hospitalisation can lead to a range of adverse consequences especially among older adults. The consequences include loss of muscle mass and strength leading to problems with loss of functional independence, risk of re-hospitalisation, and death. Moreover, older adults do not recover as well as younger adults with poor long-term recovery. The lack of in-hospital mobilisation is due to several factors including the hospital culture and organisational factors. Therefore, it is necessary to bring attention to this problem among the hospital staff. The aim of this study is to identify whether the introduction of formal education of clinical staff and a Mobilisation Initiative can increase the number of patients mobilised for breakfast and lunch among patients admitted to geriatric and medical wards. The activities planned in this study is self-reported level of mealtime mobilisation and observations of the patients, focus group interviews and survey on mobilisation awareness among the clinical staff, introduction of formal education and a Mobilisation Initiative. As hypothesized, this will result in an increased awareness of in-hospital mobilisation leading to an increase in the number of patients mobilised at mealtimes. Accordingly, expectations are that this will affect the activity level of the hospitalised patients and reduce adverse consequences leading to an increase in functional independence and reduce the number of readmissions resulting in a socioeconomic benefit.

Conditions

• In-hospital Mobility
• Geriatric
• Immobilization

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	A Mobilisation Initiative	The Mobilisation Initiative consists of physiotherapists assisting nursing staff in mobilising patients to sit in a chair for breakfast and lunch. This intervention follows the interventions of focus group interviews, formal education, observations of patients and the environment, and awareness of mobilisation survey
BEHAVIORAL	Focus Group Interviews	Focus group interviews using a semi-structured interview guide are conducted with health care professionals at the wards to explore the acceptability and demand for the contents of the Mobilisation Initiative, including the identification of facilitators and barriers to mobilisation
BEHAVIORAL	Formal Education	Formal education for all nursing staff employed at the two wards includes information on the consequences of immobilisation, with the purpose of enhancing confidence, competencies, and awareness of mobilisation
BEHAVIORAL	Self-reported Level of Mobilisation	Patient's self-reported mealtime mobilisation level reported through interview-based surveys, including structured follow-up questions
BEHAVIORAL	Observations of Patients and the Environment	During breakfast and lunch, the mobilisation status of all patients in the wards is observed using an observation checklist
BEHAVIORAL	Awareness of Mobilisation Survey	To assess the nursing staff's awareness of and confidence in the mobilisation of the patients, a short survey on mobilisation awareness is distributed to the nursing staff at both wards

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-04-01
• Primary completion: 2021-10-01
• Completion: 2021-12-31
• First posted: 2023-07-03
• Last updated: 2025-04-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Denmark