Physical function and health-related quality of life of older adults undergoing hospital rehabilitation : how strong is the association?

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to report preliminary empirical evidence regarding the association between common physical performance measures and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of hospitalized older adults recovering from illness and injury. Frequently, these patients do not return to premorbid levels of independence and physical ability. Rehabilitation for this population often
focuses on improving physical functioning and mobility
with the intention of maximizing their HRQoL for discharge
and thereafter. For this reason, longitudinal use of
physical performance measures as an indicator of improvement
in physical functioning (and thus HRQoL) is common. Although this is a logical approach, there have been mixed results from previous investigations into the association between common measures of physical function and HRQoL amongst other adult patient populations.1,2 There has been no previous investigation reporting the association between HRQoL and a variety of common physical performance measures in hospitalized older adults.