Function and quality of life could not be meta-analysed due to insufficient data and heterogeneity of measures , but functional measures tended to favour the physiotherapy rehabilitation group .
Most outcomes were similar between outpatient and home-based exercise programs .
Physiotherapy rehabilitation improves hip abductor strength , gait speed and cadence in people who have been discharged from hospital after total hip replacement .
Physiotherapist-directed rehabilitation exercises appear to be similarly effective whether they are performed unsupervised at home or supervised by a physiotherapist in an outpatient setting
QUESTION In people who have been discharged from hospital after a total hip replacement , do rehabilitation exercises directed by a physiotherapist improve strength , gait , function and quality of life ?
Are these exercises as effective in an unsupervised home-based setting as they are in a supervised outpatient setting ?
The Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL) instrument: a psychometric measure of Health-Related Quality of Life
This paper describes constructing the Assessment of Quality of Life ( AQoL ) instrument ; design ed to measure health-related quality of life ( HRQoL )  , and to be the descriptive system for a multi-attribute utility instrument . Unlike previous utility instruments ' descriptive systems , the AQoL 's has been developed using state-of-the-art psychometric procedures . The result is a descriptive system which emphasizes five different facets of HRQoL and which can cl aim to have construct validity . Based on the WHO 's definition of health a model of HRQoL was developed . Items were written by focus groups of doctors and the research ers . These were administered to a construction sample , comprising hospital patients , and community members chosen at r and om . Final construction was through an iterative process of factor and reliability analyses . The AQoL measures 5 dimensions : illness , independent living , social relationships , physical senses and psychological wellbeing . Each has three items . Exploratory factor analysis showed the dimensions were orthogonal , and each was unidimensional . Internal consistency was α = 0.81 . Structural equation modeling explored its internal structure ; the comparative fit index was 0.90 . These preliminary results indicate the AQoL has the prerequisite qualities for a psychometric HRQoL instrument for evaluation ; replication with a larger sample is needed to verify these findings . Scaling it for economic evaluation using utilities is being undertaken . Respondents have indicated the AQoL is easy to underst and and is quickly completed . Its initial properties suggest it may be widely applicable
Function and quality of life could not be meta-analysed due to insufficient data and heterogeneity of measures , but functional measures tended to favour the physiotherapy rehabilitation group .
Most outcomes were similar between outpatient and home-based exercise programs .
Physiotherapy rehabilitation improves hip abductor strength , gait speed and cadence in people who have been discharged from hospital after total hip replacement .
Physiotherapist-directed rehabilitation exercises appear to be similarly effective whether they are performed unsupervised at home or supervised by a physiotherapist in an outpatient setting
QUESTION In people who have been discharged from hospital after a total hip replacement , do rehabilitation exercises directed by a physiotherapist improve strength , gait , function and quality of life ?
Are these exercises as effective in an unsupervised home-based setting as they are in a supervised outpatient setting ?