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Researchers at University of Tsukuba analyzed data from home-visit nursing stations across Japan and found that older adults who received longer weekly minutes of home-visit rehabilitation—physical, occupational, or speech therapy delivered in the participants' home—showed greater improvements in activities of daily living (ADL) after six months. These results emphasize the need for sufficient rehabilitation time for older adults in long-term care.

Tsukuba, Japan—In aging societies, the role of home-visit rehabilitation (HR)—which provides physical, occupational, and speech therapy in patients' homes—is becoming increasingly important for supporting independent living. Although previous studies have shown that HR can help maintain and improve activities of daily living (ADL) among older adults with limited access to outpatient services, the dose-response relationship between the amount of HR time per week and ADL improvement remains unclear.

In this study, researchers analyzed ADL outcomes recorded during routine clinical practice using anonymized records from home-visit nursing stations collected through Kaipoke, a management support system used by long-term care and disability welfare providers.

Compared with the group receiving ≤40 min per week, participants receiving >40-60 minutes, >60-80 minutes, and >80-120 minutes HR per week over the six-month period showed significant improvements in ADL.

Further subgroup analyses revealed that longer weekly HR was associated with greater improvement in ADL among older adults with moderate to severe care needs (levels 2-5), whereas no significant differences were observed in the level 1 group, whose members were relatively more independent at baseline. Similar trends were also observed in analyses restricted to older adults with cerebrovascular disease or fractures.

The findings highlight the need for adequate HR duration to support ADL improvements, especially among older adults with greater care needs. Providing appropriate access to rehabilitation services can help maintain independence and quality of life as Japan's population continues to age.

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This research was funded by SMS Co., Ltd., (grant no. CRE30018, the University of Tsukuba).

Original Paper

Title of original paper:

Association between weekly amount of home-visit rehabilitation and changes in activities of daily living: A retrospective cohort study using home-visit nursing station records

Journal:

Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation

DOI:

10.1016/j.apmr.2025.12.024

Correspondence

Professor TAMIYA Nanako
Health Services Research and Development Center / Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba

TOMITA Makiko, PhD
Analytics & Innovation Department, SMS Co., Ltd.

Related Link

Institute of Medicine
Department of Health Services Research, Institute of Medicine