Introduction:

Prolonged hospitalization and lack of activity during hospitalization are associated with functional decline, greater complications and increased health care costs. Gait programs are strategies to promote mobility levels that can reverse these outcomes. This study aims to map the literature on the impact of gait programs on the length of hospital stay.

Methodology:

Scoping review based on the Joanna Briggs Institute model. The formulation of the research question was based on the acronym PCC - population: inpatients; concept: gait programs with impact on length of stay; context: hospital. The search was conducted in the PubMed, Scielo and PsyInfo databases, being limited to articles written in Portuguese and English, published between 2017 and 2022.

Results:

From the 53 studies identified, 24 were included in the review. We found gait programs in different hospital inpatient settings, included in multimodal intervention protocols, in global exercise programs that include gait and in exclusive gait programs. It was found that walking programs have an impact on clinical and non-clinical indicators, reflected in the length of hospital stay. One-third of the articles reviewed concluded that walking programs reduce hospital stay between 1 to 3 days.

Conclusion:

Gait programs are inexpensive strategies, feasible in a hospital setting, that improve mobility levels, functionality, and may be associated with shorter hospital stays.

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