“I’m not going to walk, just for the sake of walking…”: a qualitative, phenomenological study on physical activity during hospital stay

Abstract

Physical activity during hospital stay is a purposeful activity to achieve a goal, and should be well-balanced with both physical and mental rest according to patients and health care providers. In addition, the hospital environment seems to be a source of low inpatient physical activity. Implications for rehabilitation Health care providers should offer meaningful activities to engage patients' interest in being physically active during hospital stay. Tailored interventions aiming to increase inpatient physical activity should be balanced with phases of both physical and mental rest. A change of the hospital environment in both culture and the build environment is needed to elicit physical activity in patients during hospital stay.

Smartphone App with an Accelerometer Enhances Patients’ Physical Activity Following Elective Orthopedic Surgery: A Pilot Study

“…These large differences in the PA levels of hospitalized patients are seen in many other studies as well [13,14,41,42]. PA levels can be influenced by many different factors such as symptoms, the motivation of the patient, awareness of the importance of PA, the availability of healthcare staff to assist patients during walking, or the availability of adequate walking aids [15,43,44]. These factors are expected to result in large differences in PA levels between patients.…”

‘I will walk out of here’: Qualitative analysis of older rehabilitation patients' perceptions of mobility

“…Previous studies in acute and rehabilitation care have also emphasised the important link between physical activity and a sense of freedom and autonomy, choice and control. 17,20 Our findings highlight the need for rehabilitation facilities to promote a greater sense of flexibility and independence and explore additional strategies to support maintenance of identity and personhood through mobility and other meaningful recreational activities.…”

Development of a longlist of healthcare quality indicators for physical activity of patients during hospital stay: a modified RAND Delphi study

“…Out of 30 reported quality indicators, only two related to physical activity of patients during the hospital stay: mobilisation and inpatient fall evaluation. These two domains are likely to be important, although two quality indicators do not completely address the complex issue of low physical activity in patients during the hospital stay 10. Tropea et al 21 performed a Delphi study with anonymous voting rounds and a panel meeting similar to the current study, resulting in a set of quality indicators for healthcare in older hospitalised patients.…”

“…Low physical activity is a global healthcare issue with known adverse effects such as decreased strength, functional decline, a prolonged hospital stay and institutionalisation 6–9. Common barriers to physical activity during the hospital stay include symptoms (ie, fatigue and pain), lack of motivation, medical devices and the hospital environment 10–13. Several quality improvement initiatives have been developed to improve physical activity of patients during the hospital stay 14–18.…”