Background:

The role of rehabilitation in balance, gait, and functional independence (BGFI) is essential for preventing functional decline in hospitalized older people.

Objective:

To assess the effectiveness of a rehabilitation nursing exercise program (RNEP) on BGFI in hospitalized older people.

Methodology:

A pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest study was conducted with a non-probability convenience sample of 40 older people admitted to an Internal Medicine Unit. The intervention consisted of the implementation of a daily multicomponent RNEP that was created for this purpose. The questionnaire included a section for sociodemographic and clinical characterization, the Functional Independence Measure, and the Tinetti Test.

Results:

After seven RNEP sessions, significant positive variations in the mean scores were found: 45% for balance (p < 0.001), 48.8% for gait (p < 0.001), and 15.5% for functional independence (p < 0.001), revealing the program’s effectiveness.

Conclusion:

The RNEP seems to be effective in improving and restoring BGFI in hospitalized older people, thus it should be systematically and daily applied to this population.

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