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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Sarah Richardson
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group.. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Objectives: To test a theory-informed, person-centred rehabilitation intervention for older adults following a hospital admission complicated by delirium, developed in line with the Medical Research Council framework for complex interventions, to determine whether: (a) the intervention is acceptable to individuals with delirium and (b) a definitive trial and parallel economic evaluation of the intervention are feasible. Design: Multicentre, single-arm feasibility study. Participants: 19 patient (aged >65 years old) and carer pairs were recruited from six National Health Service acute hospitals across the UK. Intervention: Home-based rehabilitation programme designed to support recovery after hospital discharge, addressing cognitive, physical, physiological and psychosocial needs. Delivered by a trained team of occupational therapists, physiotherapists and rehabilitation support workers, the intervention included a comprehensive home assessment, collaborative goal setting, up to 10 personalised sessions over 12 weeks and the use of a recovery record to guide progress, education and psychosocial support. Outcome measures: Examined aspects of feasibility including eligibility, recruitment, data collection, attrition, acceptability of the rehabilitation intervention and potential to calculate cost-effectiveness. Results: In total, 419 patients were identified as having delirium and 36 met the full eligibility. 19 patient and carer pairs agreed to participate in the study (consent rate 53%; 95% CI 35% to 70%) with 13 participants going on to start the intervention (68%; 95% CI 43% to 87%) and 10 participants completing final follow-up (53%; 95% CI 29% to 76%). Baseline assessments were conducted either during hospitalisation or postdischarge, with initial assessments occurring a mean of 18 days (SD=13.0) postdischarge, and 77% completed within 14 days. Participants completed a mean of eight sessions (SD=2.9). 19 participants completed the primary outcome at baseline, while 10 participants completed it at 6-month follow-up. The economic evaluation indicated a total cost of £1249.29 per participant, covering assessments, intervention sessions and training costs. Conclusions: The intervention showed feasibility among older adults recovering from delirium, as evidenced by the trial processes for participants who entered the study. However, recruitment challenges indicate a need for better strategies and further research through a definitive randomised controlled trial to demonstrate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Trial registration number: ISRCTN15676570
Author(s): Allan L, Um J, O'Connell A, Raghuraman S, Bingham A, Laberick A, Chandler K, Connors J, Mahmoud A, Hawton A, Goodwin E, Morgan-Trimmer S, Goodwin VA, Ukoumunne OC, Jackson TA, Richardson SJ, Collier L, Glasby J, Whale B, Dawe P, Burnett-Fry N, Clare L
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: BMJ Open
Year: 2026
Volume: 16
Issue: 4
Online publication date: 22/04/2026
Acceptance date: 19/03/2026
Date deposited: 07/05/2026
ISSN (electronic): 2044-6055
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
URL: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-102316
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-102316
Data Access Statement: Data are available on reasonable request. Deidentified individual participant data that support the findings of this study are available from the first author on reasonable request, subject to appropriate approvals and data sharing agreements in line with participant consent and data protection regulations.
PubMed id: 42020132
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