Two-year effects of an interdisciplinary intervention on recovery following hip fracture in older Taiwanese with cognitive impairment.

OBJECTIVE This article aims to evaluate the long-term effects of an interdisciplinary intervention program on cognitively impaired older persons after hip fracture in Taiwan. METHODS Of 160 subjects randomly assigned to control (n = 81) and intervention (n  =  79) groups, 24 (29.6%) and 27 (34.2%) were cognitively impaired in the control and intervention groups, respectively, and outcomes were followed for 2 years after discharge. RESULTS Among cognitively impaired subjects, more in the intervention group recovered their previous walking ability (odds ratio [OR] =3.49; confidence interval [CI] = 1.64 to 7.42), activities of daily life performance (β  =  18.59; p = 0.0002), and more were readmitted to the hospital (OR  =  4.44, CI  =  1.53 to 12.89) than those in the control group during the first 2 years following discharge. Among subjects without cognitive impairment, more in the intervention group recovered their previous walking ability (OR  =  2.6; CI  =  1.33 to 5.07), had fewer falls (OR  =  0.47; CI  =  0.25 to 0.86), and made fewer emergency room visits (OR  =  0.33; CI = 0.11 to 0.97) during the first 2 years following discharge than those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS Cognitively impaired individuals benefited from our interdisciplinary intervention by improving their walking ability and physical function during the first 2 years following discharge. Specific strategies on fall prevention following hip fracture need to be further developed for cognitively impaired individuals.