SynthesisBMC geriatrics2020
Can in-hospital or post discharge caregiver involvement increase functional performance of older patients? A systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC geriatrics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The role of family caregivers in supporting older adults in Africa: systematic review.BMC geriatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Facilitators and barriers to enhancing physical activity in older patients during acute hospital stay: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- Built environments for inpatient stroke rehabilitation services and care: a systematic literature review.BMJ open · 2021Pooled it
- Experiences of frail Korean older adults and their families in a transitional care program: an exploratory qualitative study.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- Validation of Subjective and Objective Decisional Trees to prescribe exercise using the pace tool in outpatient older adults.European geriatric medicine · 2026Article
- Content Validation and Perceived Value of Text Messages to Promote Physical Activity Among U.S. Older Adults and Care Partners.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Observational
- Exploring perspectives of older adults and informal caregivers on physical activity during non-weight-bearing rehabilitation: a qualitative study.European geriatric medicine · 2026Article
- Interventions by Rehabilitation Nurse Specialists in the Training of Informal Carers of Older People at Home with Chronic Diseases: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Examining the Efficacy of the Telehealth Assessment and Skill-Building Kit (TASK III) Intervention for Stroke Caregivers: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Transitional Care Interventions in Improving Patient and Caregiver Outcomes After Discharge: A Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Transition from Hospital to Home-Based Care for Older Adults in Southwestern Uganda: Informal Caregiver's Experiences.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Article
- Informal Caregivers in Transitional Hospital-to-Home Care for Older People: Addressing Gaps in Pre-Discharge Collaboration for Enhanced Patient Outcomes.Patient preference and adherence · 2025Article
- Recognition of cognitive dysfunction in hospitalised older patients: a flash mob study.BMC geriatrics · 2024Observational
- Greater intramuscular adipose tissue of the quadriceps in older inpatients at post-acute hospital admission is more strongly related to a low rate of home discharge than a loss of muscle mass.Scientific reports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRegaining pre-hospitalization activity levels is only achieved in 30-50% of older patients. Extra physiotherapy time has been proven to improve functional outcome and shorten length of stay, but is costly. Considering their key role in caring for older people, involving informal caregivers in rehabilitation might further improve functional performance.
aimTo determine if in-hospital or post discharge caregiver involvement can increase functional performance in older adults. The secondary aim was to determine if caregiver involvement can influence, quality of life of patient and caregiver, medical costs, readmission rate, discharge location, and mortality.
designSystematic review with narrative synthesis.
methodsThe electronic bibliographic databases MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane and Web of Science were searched for (quasi) experimental and observational studies, with the following inclusion criteria; caregiver involvement regarding functional performance, mean age over 65 years, admitted to a hospital unit and subsequently discharged to their home setting. Risk of bias was assessed with the Rob 2 (randomized trials) and the ROBINS-1 tool (non-randomized studies).
resultsEight studies of an initial 4683 were included: four randomized controlled trials, one prospective cohort study, one non-randomized controlled trial, one subgroup analysis of an RCT and one prospective pre-post study. All but one study included patients with stroke. Three types of caregiver interventions could be distinguished: a care pathway (inclusion of caregivers in the process of care), education on stroke and teaching of bed-side handling-skills, and caregiver-mediated exercises. The one study evaluating the care pathway reported 24.9% more returns home in the intervention group. Studies evaluating the effect of education and bed-side handling-skills reported higher effect sizes for several outcomes with increasing session frequency. All studies with caregiver-mediated exercises showed beneficial effects on functional performance, immediately after the intervention and within 3 months follow-up.
conclusionThe findings of this review suggest that involvement of caregivers in the rehabilitation of older adults leads to better functional performance up to 3 months after initiation. However, evidence is low and mainly focusing on stroke.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.