Physical therapy for elderly patients in home care: evidence of effectiveness and challenges for clinical practice
Physical therapy for elderly patients in home care: evidence of effectiveness and challenges for clinical practice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51473/rcmos.v1i2.2025.1832Keywords:
Home-based physiotherapy, Older adult, Home careAbstract
Population aging, combined with increasing multimorbidity and frailty, has intensified the demand for continuous, home-centered care models. In this context, home-based physiotherapy emerges as a key strategy to preserve functional capacity, prevent disability, and promote quality of life among older adults receiving home care. This article presents a narrative review of the literature, drawing on studies that discuss the challenges of physiotherapy practice in Home Care within Brazil’s Family Health Strategy (SANTOS et al., 2024), the impact of home-based physiotherapy on the quality of life of older adults in home care (LANGOWSKI et al., 2025), as well as a classic study on home-based physiotherapy for older adults (GÓIS; VERAS, 2006) and Marcial’s (2013) dissertation on geriatric home physiotherapy and its interactions with leisure. Taken together, these works indicate that home-based physiotherapy programs, generally multicomponent (strength, balance, functional training) and individualized, contribute to reducing bed restriction, improving mobility, autonomy in activities of daily living, and quality-of-life indicators, in addition to strengthening the bond with family members and caregivers. Important challenges, however, persist: underuse of home-based physiotherapy in primary care, lack of standardized protocols, logistical barriers, training gaps for home practice, and still limited incorporation of dimensions such as leisure and social participation. It is concluded that physiotherapy for older adults in home care is an essential component of integrated care models, provided it is closely articulated with multidisciplinary teams and supported by specific professional training and public policies that recognize its strategic role.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Flávia Bitencourt Pires, Aletheia Araujo da Silva Schmoller , Angélica Antunes Lucas Filgueira de Sá Rodrigues, Paulo Vitor Castilho Soares, Juliana de Souza Silva Velloso (Autor)
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