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Use of a functional mobility measure to predict discharge destinations for patients admitted to an older adult rehabilitation ward: A feasibility study
Author(s) -
Tillson Trish,
Rohan Maheswaran,
Larmer Peter J
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/ajag.12491
Subject(s) - rehabilitation , medicine , audit , physical therapy , population , cohort , destinations , emergency medicine , physical medicine and rehabilitation , geography , management , environmental health , tourism , archaeology , economics
Objective To investigate whether the discharge destination for older adults can be predicted using functional mobility as measured by the Modified Elderly Mobility Scale ( MEMS ), associated with demographic and primary reason for admission variables. Methods A retrospective cohort population audit of 257 patients admitted and discharged from four tertiary older adult rehabilitation wards in a three‐month period. A number of predictor variables were considered alongside the discharge destination. Results Multinomial statistical modelling established that MEMS prior to (P < 0.001), MEMS on completion (P = 0.009) of rehabilitation physiotherapy and primary reason for admission (P = 0.002) were significant variables to predict discharge destination. The model correctly predicted 71% of observed patient discharge destinations. Conclusion The MEMS in conjunction with primary reason for admission was able to predict discharge destination with 71% accuracy in a heterogeneous population of older adults following rehabilitation.