The purpose of this study was to ascertain the importance of learning a motor task in a sitting position and its influence on gait. Thirty-one healthy subjects, divided into three groups, were asked to learn a synchronous heel-up-heel-down rhythm task in a sitting position and to reproduce the rhythm during their gait cycle on three separate occasions over a three-day period. This study provided evidence that training of a subject in a sitting position produced a nonspecific influence during ambulation. The inability to obtain an exact transfer of learning from a sitting position to gait and its implication to the specificity principle of learning are discussed. Some subjects had difficulty maintaining their performance over the three-day period. This finding was attributed in part to the influence of proactive and retroactive inhibition. Mat activities, therefore, seem to have a very limited impact on modifying gait. The clinical implications of these findings are presented.

Background Optimising timely discharge from hospitals is an international priority. In 2020, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the United Kingdom Government implementing the Discharge to Assess (D2A) model across England. This funded temporary care home placement to allow further recovery and assessment of care needs outside of the hospital. Objectives Determine if older adults discharged from hospital to care homes after implementation of D2A differ in their characteristics or outcomes. Design and methods Two cohorts of older adults discharged from hospital to care homes pre- and post-implementation of the D2A model (n = 244), with 6 months of follow-up. Data were extracted from routinely collected healthcare records. Results The mean duration of the hospital admission was reduced (29 vs. 23 days (P = 0.02)) but discharges to care homes did not increase with implementation of D2A (n = 161 in both cohorts prior to exclusions). In July–December 2020 (post-implementation), 28% of people were living in a private residence 6 months post-discharge, compared with 18% in the same period in 2019 (P = 0.09). When those who died were excluded, this changed to 40 vs. 28% (P = 0.19). There was no change in 6-month mortality (26 vs. 35% (P = 0.17)), and no increase in readmission rate (0.48 vs. 0.63 (P = 0.21) readmissions-per-patient over 6 months). No differences in key characteristics were found. However, patients were placed in care homes further from admission addresses (17.3 vs. 9.8 km (P = 0.00001)). Conclusions Implementation of D2A did not result in poorer outcomes but was associated with a reduced length of hospital stay.