Martinez-Rico, Sandra, Lizaur-Utrilla, Alejandro, Sebastia-Forcada, Emilio, Vizcaya-Moreno, M. Flores, Juan Herrero, Joaquín de
The Impact of a Phone Assistance Nursing Program on Adherence to Home Exercises and Final Outcomes in Patients Who Underwent Shoulder Instability Surgery
Orthopaedic Nursing. 2018, 37(6): 372-378. doi:10.1097/NOR.0000000000000501
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/90618
DOI: 10.1097/NOR.0000000000000501
ISSN: 0744-6020 (Print)
Abstract: 
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a phone assistance nursing program as an adjunct to conventional physiotherapy to increase adherence to a home exercise program on functional outcomes of patients who underwent shoulder instability surgery. METHODS: A randomized controlled study of 70 patients allocated to a phone assistance program (study group, n = 36 patients) or conventional postoperative management (control group, n = 34 patients) was conducted. All patients in both groups received conventional rehabilitation at the outpatient clinic after surgery. In addition, patients in the study group received phone calls from a nurse (who had access to a physiotherapist) 3 days per week. During the calls these patients received a coaching session about self-care and support with the home exercise program. Evaluations were performed during a follow-up of 12 months for range of motion (ROM), pain (visual analog scale [VAS] score), Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score, Oxford Shoulder Instability Score (OSIS), and Rowe score. RESULTS: All scores significantly improved from preoperative to the final follow-up in both groups (p = .001). At the final follow-up, there were no significant differences between groups in VAS, DASH, or Rowe scores. However, those in the study group had significantly better OSIS (p = .013) and ROM (p = .001), particularly for anterior forward motion (p = .001). Likewise, the study group achieved full motion and function significantly faster than the control group (p = .002). The amount of rehabilitation sessions at the outpatient clinic was 1.7 times higher in the control group (p = .004) than in the study group. CONCLUSION: The phone assistance nursing program was an effective procedure to significantly improve the outcomes of conventional physiotherapy in patients who have undergone an operation for shoulder instability.
Keywords:Phone assistance nursing program, Adherence, Home exercise program, Functional outcomes, Shoulder instability surgery
Wolters Kluwer
info:eu-repo/semantics/article