Metrics details. Geriatric rehabilitation aims at increasing physical and social activity and maintaining the functional reserve of older people. However, the continuity of geriatric rehabilitation in the outpatient setting is limited due to a lack of structured aftercare programs. In order to overcome this, a three-month multimodal home-based intervention program GeRas was implemented.
In a qualitative process evaluation, 13 healthcare providers and 10 patients were interviewed throughout the beginning of the implementation period of GeRas to capture early experiences using a semi-structured interview guide.
The GeRas program was perceived to be largely well implemented and beneficial by healthcare providers and patients. According to healthcare providers, GeRas showed more advantages compared to usual care. Additionally, outcome expectations were mainly met Domain 1: Effectiveness. However, the implementation of the intervention delivered via the eHealth system was perceived as challenging Domain 2: Adoption.
Nevertheless, the outpatient physical exercise, the outpatient counselling, and the continuous care after discharge improved perceived well-being regardless of the intervention type Domain 3: Implementation. To facilitate the continued use of GeRas, technical requirements should be created to increase user-friendliness and to motivate patients to continue the training in the long term Domain 4: Maintenance.
Although initial experiences with the implementation and effectiveness of GeRas were positive in general, organisational and technical issues need to be resolved to enhance sustainable and successful implementation of the GeRas program.
