Interdisciplinary intervention for hip fracture in older Taiwanese: Benefits last for 1 year

Background. Little is known about the effects of interventions for elderly patients with hip fracture in Asian countries, particularly beyond the short term. Methods. Outcomes (service utilization, clinical outcomes, self-care ability, and depressive symptoms) were assessed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge. Self-care ability (ability to perform activities of daily living [ADLs]), was measured by the Chinese Barthel Index. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Chinese Geriatric Depression Scale, short form. Results. The experimental group (n = 80) had a significantly better ADL trajectory than the control group (n = 82) during the 1st year after discharge (p = .002). More participants in the experimental group than in the control group recovered their previous walking ability both at 6 months (81% vs 58%, respectively) and 12 months (84% vs 66%, respectively) after discharge. Overall, the odds ratio for the experimental group recovering their previous walking ability was 2.72 (p < .001) compared to the control group. The experimental group had significantly fewer depressive symptoms than the control group during the 1st year following discharge (p = .004). Conclusion. An interdisciplinary intervention for hip fracture with a discharge support component benefited elderly persons with hip fracture by improving both self-care ability and walking ability, and by decreasing depressive symptoms during the 1st year after hospital discharge.