title: The role of physical therapists in introducing assistive products for the home-bound elderly disabled.
abstract: [Purpose] This study explored the roles of physical therapists (PTs) in introducing assistive products, which are essential for living securely and stably at home, and examined how PTs can fulfill these roles more efficiently and effectively. [Subjects and Methods] A questionnaire on introducing assistive products was administered to PTs working at randomly selected hospitals, health-care facilities for the elderly requiring long-term care, home-visit nursing stations, and other such facilities and to PTs providing physical therapy directly to the home-bound elderly disabled. The subjects of the study were 77 PTs who returned valid responses. [Results] For awareness of systems for assistive product's introduction, PTs were more aware of the system based on the Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance Act than the system based on the Act on Welfare for the Home-Bound Elderly Disabled. For PTs handling assistive product's introduction for the home-bound elderly disabled, approximately 91% of the respondents answered that they had handled some cases of assistive product's introduction, and PTs with longer clinical experience had handled more assistive product's introduction cases. [Conclusion] The results demonstrated that PTs understand the work involved in introducing assistive products work well and that they handle it. The results, however, also suggested that educational and operational improvements are urgently required for PTs introducing assistive products essential for the lives of the home-bound elderly disabled.
authors: Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Kobe International University, Japan.
authors: Seiichi
authors: S
authors: Takemasa
authors: Visit Nursing-care Station Relief, Japan.
authors: Yoko
authors: Y
authors: Abe
authors: Department of Rehabilitation, Geriatric Health Services Facility Elder Village, Japan.
authors: Ryoma
authors: R
authors: Nakagoshi
authors: Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Kobe International University, Japan.
authors: Masayuki
authors: M
authors: Uesugi
authors: Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Kobe International University, Japan.
authors: Yuri
authors: Y
authors: Inoue
authors: Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Kobe International University, Japan.
authors: Makoto
authors: M
authors: Gotou
authors: Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Kobe International University, Japan.
authors: Yoshifumi
authors: Y
authors: Nanba
authors: Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Kobe International University, Japan.
authors: Yoshitaka
authors: Y
authors: Otani
keywords: Assistive products; Home-bound elderly disabled; Physical therapists
references: J Phys Ther Sci. 2013 Jul;25(7):807-10
references: 24259858