Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
A recent study shows that a program adapted from the UK is making a difference in patient recovery in Alberta hospitals.
End PJ Paralysis is currently offered at all adult hospitals in Calgary, along with several Edmonton area hospitals and High River Hospital. Its aim is to get patients out of bed, dressed in their own clothes and moving as much as possible.
“In a gown, you feel like you’re sick, like you’re sick. Wearing it is a step in the right direction,” said Karl Sawatzky, who is currently a patient in the program in Calgary.
Healthcare professionals have long recognized the negative physical and psychological effects of spending too much time in bed.
Some of the physical side effects include delirium, pneumonia, pressure injuries and general weakness. Depression and lethargy are common psychological side effects.
Since 2019, End PJ Paralysis has been offered in the post-acute rehabilitation unit at Foothills Medical Center. The ward mainly includes patients recovering from spinal cord, stroke or brain injury.
Patients are first encouraged to get out of bed and wash their own face or shower. The next step involves dressing themselves in their own clothes.
“You see how much better they feel,” said Jill Congram, a nurse clinician with the program at Foothills. “Part of healing is starting to feel good again.”
Bill Bennett, who had spine surgery in April, is participating in the Foothills program.
“I used to have to call nurses in to turn me every couple of hours. Now I can get out of bed myself,” he said.
Bill Bennett, left, has been at Foothills Medical Center for more than three months after undergoing spine surgery. (Courtesy: Alberta Health Services)
The small steps encouraged throughout the program have an impact.
In April 2024, a study published in the journal Disability and Rehabilitation about End PJ Paralysis outcomes in participating Alberta hospitals looked at the discharge data for 32,884 patients.
They found that those in the program reduced their hospital stay by 1.8 days.
The research also shows that lifting and moving patients does not increase the risk of falls. In fact, it proved the opposite, that patients who took part in the program had 2.2 fewer falls during their hospital stay.
And over time, the percentage of patients discharged to their homes, rather than long-term care facilities, increased. Movement and wear rates also improved.
Sawatzky was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome in January. He spent two months in ICU at Foothills and a month in acute care. During that time, he had pneumonia five times.
Sawatzky says since being transferred to the post-acute rehabilitation unit and participating in the program, he has not had pneumonia.
“It’s a night and day difference from then to now,” Sawatzky said. “Everything comes back much faster. I wasn’t sure I’d walk again. I had a two year recovery and in five months I’m already using a walker.”
Although the program may sound simple, it is not easy for the participants. “It’s hard, it’s challenging, it’s tiring,” Congram said.
She pointed out that nurses have to balance their role between doing everything for the patient and being cheerleaders. They adjust based on a patient’s situation and abilities.
Bennett says he is keen to get up and moving but the encouragement to socialize has made the biggest difference.
Eating meals in the “cafeteria, was one of the best things for that. I have made friends that I will have for life,” he said.
Pandemic effect
The program hadn’t been running long before the pandemic hit, and it had an impact.
“Momentum was lost during the COVID years,” said Paul Wright, Calgary zone executive director of integrated quality management.
The 2024 study looked at the pandemic interventions to the program and concluded that there was a general reversal of previous outcome gains.
There was a slight increase in length of stay and inpatient fall rates. There was also a significant reduction in the number of people discharged home.
Wright said several important factors contributed to the decline in results. Limited numbers of visitors limited the amount of clothing and personal items that were transported to patients.
Protective equipment to prevent the spread of the virus made socializing difficult. And there were limited areas for walking in the hospital.
“In the last four months, we’ve had a lot of energy around resuming the messages of getting patients up and moving to better health in Calgary and in Edmonton,” Wright said.
Expand the program
The 2024 study highlights the growing need for more programs like End PJ Paralysis. He calls hospital immobility endemic in Canada and says it will only get worse with an aging population.
In Alberta, a plan is already underway to expand End PJ Paralysis to the community.
“I met with teams in the community and home care to see how we can spread the initiative to support patients in their own environment,” Wright said, adding that he had also spoken to him recently and had education sessions with some hospitals in Ontario that want to launch the program.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/program-helping-get-patients-out-of-bed-at-alberta-hospitals-improving-recovery-time-study-1.6940474
