A survey of nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists in mobility care and gait aid use for hospital patients with dementia

Den-Ching A Lee; Claudia Meyer; Elissa Burton; Su Kitchen; Cylie Williams; Susan W Hunter; Plaiwan Suttanon; Keith D Hill

doi:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2022.02.017

A survey of nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists in mobility care and gait aid use for hospital patients with dementia

Geriatr Nurs. 2022 Mar-Apr:44:221-228. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2022.02.017. Epub 2022 Feb 28.

Authors

Den-Ching A Lee¹, Claudia Meyer², Elissa Burton³, Su Kitchen⁴, Cylie Williams⁵, Susan W Hunter⁶, Plaiwan Suttanon⁷, Keith D Hill⁸

Affiliations

¹ School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria 3199, Australia; Rehabilitation Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria 3199, Australia. Electronic address: angel.lee@monash.edu.
² Rehabilitation Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria 3199, Australia; Bolton Clarke Research Institute, Bolton Clarke, Forest Hill, Victoria 3131, Australia; Centre for Health Communication and Participation, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia.
³ Curtin School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia; enAble Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia.
⁴ Sir Charles Gairdner Osbourne Park Health Care Group, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
⁵ School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria 3199, Australia.
⁶ School of Physical Therapy, University of Western Ontario, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada.
⁷ Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Thammasat University, Bangkok 10200, Thailand.
⁸ Rehabilitation Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria 3199, Australia; National Centre for Healthy Ageing, Monash University and Peninsula Health, Frankston, Victoria, Australia 3199.

PMID: 35240401
DOI: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2022.02.017

Abstract

This study described mobility care practice of nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists and gait aid use for hospital patients with dementia. Two surveys, tailored to staff mobility care roles were distributed in Australian hospitals. Physiotherapists and occupational therapists were asked additional questions regarding assessments and factors for prescribing gait aids to patients with dementia. Descriptive statistics for closed-ended and summative content analyses for open-ended questions were undertaken. Nurses (n=56), physiotherapists (n=11) and occupational therapists (n=23) used various practices to ensure ambulation safety for patients with dementia. Nurses and occupational therapists commonly referred patients with dementia to physiotherapists for mobility and gait aid assessments. Therapists predominantly considered the severity of dementia, the person's learning ability and mobility history in deciding about gait aid use. Exploring ways to strengthen nursing and health professional education, and inter-professional practice for safe mobility in patients with dementia, with and without gait aids, could be helpful.

Keywords: Dementia; Gait aid; Hospital; Mobility; Nurses; Occupational therapists; Physiotherapists.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Australia
Dementia*
Gait
Hospitals
Humans
Occupational Therapists
Physical Therapists*