Promoting Mobility in the Acute Care Setting

Deconditioning occurs commonly in hospitalized older adults, even after short hospital stays. Deconditioning often leads to functional loss and discharge to higher levels of care, compared to preadmission levels, and other adverse outcomes for older adults. The default order of “bedrest” is thought to be a prime factor in hospital-associated deconditioning and experts advise against this as a reflexive order. Studies of walking programs, resistance exercises, and early rehabilitation efforts in older adults demonstrate safety and feasibility. However, geographic hospital geriatric acute care units have the strongest evidence for preventing hospital-associated declines in older adults.