The purpose of our study was to determine if aging adults who received rehabilitation following total hip arthroplasty (THA) due to osteoarthritis had better short-term outcomes in an Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) compared with those currently receiving rehabilitation in subacute rehabilitation units.
Thirty-six adults, aged 65 to 88 years, who received inpatient rehabilitation following THA secondary to osteoarthritis participated in this study. A prospective descriptive study of 4 aging adults receiving rehabilitation in 2 subacute rehabilitation facilities and a retrospective descriptive study of 32 aging adults who received rehabilitation in an IRF were conducted. Socioeconomic, medical, rehabilitative care, and demographic data were obtained by review of participants' medical charts. FIM scores of the aging adults in the IRF were obtained by chart review, while FIM scores of the aging adults in the subacute facilities were collected by one of the investigators.
In this sample, the aging adults in the IRF appeared to have greater changes in total FIM score, motor subscale FIM score, and self-care subscale FIM score than the aging adults in the subacute facilities. In this sample, discharge setting appeared similar for the aging adults in the two rehabilitation settings.
It is imperative that further research determine if rehabilitation provided in different settings that offer different intensities and durations of rehabilitation affects functional outcomes for aging adults following THA procedures.