Author(s)

Bibi Mwanatambwe Phiri^1,2*, Martha Banda Chalwe², Margaret Mweshi², Loveness Anila Nkhata²

¹Department of Physiotherapy, Chainama Hills Hospital, Lusaka Zambia.
²School of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.

Background: Physical functional decline is common among elderly individuals with mental disorders, worsening their symptoms. Physiotherapy interventions have shown some evidence in improving physical function and mental health outcomes in this population. This study aimed to assess the impact of physiotherapy interventions on the elderly with mental health conditions at Chainama Hills College Hospital in Zambia. Methods: A pre-post single sample design was used to track patient progress over six weeks, with 10 physiotherapy sessions. The study population (N = 30) comprised of all elderly individuals with mental health conditions, encompassing both men and women, who were hospitalized during the research period. The Katz Index of Activities of Daily Living and the six-minute walk test were evaluated before and after the intervention. The IBM SPSS version 26 was used to analyze data and results were presented as mean ± SD with a 95% confidence interval. The variables were described in terms of their mean, SD, and range. A significance level of 0.05 was used for a paired T-test to detect changes and multiple logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with mental health. Results: Following the intervention, the percentage of participants achieving full function and independence increased significantly to 96.7% from the initial 73.3%, supported by a 95% CI = [0.82 - 0.99]. There was also a notable decrease in the proportion of individuals experiencing moderate impairment, dropping from 26.7% to just 3.3%, with a corresponding 95% CI = [0.00 - 0.17]. Conclusion: The findings derived from this study illustrate an enhancement in the aspects of participants’ overall health and functional condition, including blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate. Consequently, physiotherapy exercises can be employed as a tactic to ameliorate the functional status and physical well-being of older individuals afflicted with mental disorders in Zambia.

Elderly, Mental Health, Conditions, Physiotherapy, Exercise

Phiri, B. , Chalwe, M. , Mweshi, M. and Nkhata, L. (2024) The Impact of Physiotherapy Interventions on the Elderly Population with Mental Health Conditions at Chainama Hills College Hospital in Zambia. A Pre-Post Single Sample Study Design. Open Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 12, 160-173. doi: 10.4236/ojtr.2024.122012.