Association of environmental factors with levels of home and community participation in an adult rehabilitation cohort.

Abstract

To examine whether home and community environmental barriers and facilitators are predictors of social and home participation and community participation at 1 and 6 months after discharge from an acute care or inpatient rehabilitation hospital. Cohort study. Postacute care. Adults (N=342) age 18 years or older with a diagnosis of complex medical, orthopedic, or neurologic condition recruited from acute care and inpatient rehabilitation facilities. The mean age +/- standard deviation of participants was 68+/-14 years; 49% were women and 92% were white. Not applicable. Participation in social, home and community affairs as assessed with the Participation Measure for Post-Acute Care. Adjusting for covariates, 1 month after discharge a greater presence of home mobility barriers (P<.01) was associated with less social and home participation; whereas greater community mobility barriers (P<.01) and more social support (P<.001) were associated with greater participation. At 6 months, social support was the only environmental factor associated with participation after adjusting for covariates. This study provides new empirical evidence that environmental barriers and facilitators do influence participation in a general rehabilitation cohort, at least in the short term.