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Table 4 Patient eligibility criteria. Consensus Delphi items

From: Developing a model for rehabilitation in the home as hospital substitution for patients requiring reconditioning: a Delphi survey in Australia

Item No

Survey items

Percent agreement

Delphi round

1

The patient was living at home prior to admission to hospital, and the intention is for them to return home

93.1

2

2

The patient will be functionally independent inside their home in terms of mobility (with or without aids) or has a willing and able carer who can supervise/assist with mobility

95.0

2

3

The patient will be functionally independent at home with toileting and personal care (with or without aids) or has a willing and able carer who can supervise/assist with toileting and personal care

93.1

2

4

The patient can manage the basic necessities of living (such as meal preparation or obtaining meals, or doing their laundry) or has a willing and able carer who can assist with these tasks, or these tasks can be provided under the RITH program

91.1

2

5

The home environment is considered to be safe for the patient whilst they undergo a RITH program

97.0

2

6

The home is accessible for the patient (patient can enter and exit the home)

86.1

2

7

The patient is deemed medically stable for discharge home into a RITH program

97.0

2

8

The patient has sufficient cognition to participate in a RITH program, or has a willing and able carer who can assist the patient to participate actively

90.1

2

9

The patient is agreeable to having rehabilitation in the home

99.0

2

10

The patient is motivated to participate in rehabilitation

96.0

2

11

The home environment does not pose a safety risk to staff

98.0

2

12a

The patient’s falls risk is manageableb and/or patient autonomy concerning falls risk has been consideredc

 > 70.0

3

13a

Minimal achievable goals for RITH can be agreed upond,e

 > 70.0

2, 3

  1. aDerived from more than one Delphi item
  2. bSurvey item in DR3 read:’ A falls risk assessment should be undertaken by the RITH/Rehabilitation team in their assessment of patient eligibility for RITH, and only patients deemed to have a manageable falls risk should be accepted onto a RITH program’ (71.8% agreement)
  3. cSurvey item in DR3 read: ‘Patient autonomy should be taken into account when considering whether patients deemed to be of high falls risk should be accepted onto a RITH program’ (78.2% agreement)
  4. dSurvey item in DR2 read: ‘Patients selected for RITH should be those for whom their desired outcomes are likely to be achievable within the available program intensity and duration’ (90.1% agreement)
  5. eSurvey item in DR3 read: ‘If minimum achievable goals for RITH cannot be agreed upon, then the patient should not be offered RITH but should be offered an alternate care pathway, that might include inpatient rehabilitation’ (81.6% agreement)
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BMC Health Services Research

ISSN: 1472-6963

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