Implementation of intervention programs specifically tailored for patients with CI in early rehabilitation during acute hospitalization: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

Review question / Objective: What is the current status of implementation of interventional programs on early functional rehabilitation during acute, hospital-based medical care, specifically tailored for older patients with CI and what are the most appropriate programs or program components to support early rehab in this specific population? This study combines a systematic umbrella review with a scoping review. While an umbrella review synthesizes knowledge by summarizing existing review papers, a scoping review aims to provide an overview of an emerging area, extracting concepts and identify the gaps in knowledge. The study focuses on older hospitalized adults (>65 yrs.) receiving ward based early rehabilitation. The focus within this review is on study participants with cognitive impairment or dementia. The study targets at controlled trials independent of their randomization procedure reporting on an early functional rehabilitation during hospitalization. Trials that were conducted in different or mixed settings (e.g. inpatient and aftercare intervention) without a clear focus on hospital based rehabilitation were excluded. The study aim is to identify the presence of CI specific features for early rehabilitation including: CI/dementia assessment, sub-analysis of results according to cognitive status, sample description defined by cognitive impairment, program modules specific for geriatric patients CI.