Effectiveness of Home-based rehabilitation in improving physical function of persons with Stroke and other physical disability: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Background: A significant number of people with physical disabilities in the world, especially in most developing countries face a lot of impediments. There is a dearth of literature describing the consensus of effectiveness of home-based rehabilitation programs designed specifically for people living with different types of physical disabilities resulting from stroke, Parkinson's and other musculoskeletal conditions. Objective: To determine if home-based rehabilitation is effective in improving physical function of people with physical disabilities. Method: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials was done. An electronic search of the literature was done by PubMed, Cochrane Library, the Physiotherapy Evidence Database and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature from 1990 to March 2018 to identify full text, peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials, Published in English. Selected randomized controlled trials were critically appraised with 11 items Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale scores extracted from the Physiotherapy Evidence Database and studies were included if the cutoff of 5 points was reached on Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale score. Results: Nine randomized controlled trials met the preset eligibility criteria. This systematic review found that there is the consistency of findings among the included studies which showed that home-based rehabilitation is an effective option for people with physical disabilities. Conclusion: Home-based rehabilitation is not superior to hospital-based rehabilitation in improving nearly all patient outcomes assessed. However, home-based exercise programs require patient enthusiasm and regular follow-up to yield positive outcomes.