An Evaluation of the Occupational Therapy for Spinal Fusion Hip Spica Patients

Abstract

Spinal fusions, achieved by means of Steffee plates, can be followed by the patient being encased in a hip spica jacket for 3–6 months. This is likely to create functional difficulties for the patient, which are appropriate for occupational therapy. This research aimed to evaluate a hospital occupational therapy service provided to these patients and the follow-up community occupational therapy likely to be received on discharge. All the patients underwent surgery at an elective surgical unit within a general hospital. There were 25 patients in the study and 24 were available for interview within their own home 10 weeks postoperatively. Relevant data were collected on a number of clinical as well as functional topics. From all the sources of data it was concluded that these patients did experience difficulties postoperatively, although occupational therapy could address only some of them. In addition, it was indicated that rehabilitation was not complete once the patient's discharge package had been implemented and that, in fact, further rehabilitation was likely to be beneficial when the hip spica was gradually discarded. This article focuses on the patients' perceptions of the hospital occupational therapy service.