UMC Utrecht in Motion
Staying active is good, especially during a hospital stay. Staying active during your stay maintains fitness, reduces the risk of complications, and ensures that a patient can go home sooner.
Despite the fact that exercise is good, patients move little in the hospital:
- Patients spend 90 percent of the time in their rooms during the day.
- Patients lie in bed 60 percent of the time during the day.
- Patients spend only 5 to 10 percent of their time moving, for example standing, walking, or therapy.
- Physical activity is still too low on the priority list of healthcare providers.
- The bed takes center stage
To change this, the UMC Utrecht in Motion project was launched by the Chair of Physiotherapy Science. With this project, UMC Utrecht aims to become a movement-oriented hospital, while also investigating the effect of this project on patients' physical activity behavior.
Mapping patient movement
A motion sensor for every patient
To encourage physical activity before, during, and after hospitalization, UMC Utrecht has been using a motion sensor since May 2021. Patients wear the motion sensor on their ankle. This allows healthcare providers to monitor physical activity in the patient's medical record and on a screen in the ward. Research shows that patients become more active as a result of this motion sensor. Read the article with the results. (English)
It is not surprising that there is little movement in a hospital. Currently, the environment on many wards does little to encourage physical activity. Chairs are usually placed in a corner somewhere, while your bed stands centrally in the room. The corridors are dull, and there is no pleasant place to meet other patients or to cycle on an exercise bike. That is why we are actively involved in the renovation plans for the nursing wards.
Watch a video of department C4 East - Surgical Oncology
video van afdeling C4 Oost - Chirurgische Oncologie
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Exercise Decision Support
To prevent patients from unnecessarily losing fitness due to hospitalization, it is therefore important to guide them in getting enough exercise. But what is sufficient? To address this, we have developed the Exercise Decision Aid based on multiple scientific studies. The decision aid helps healthcare providers and patients set targeted exercise goals.
To prevent patients' fitness from deteriorating due to hospitalization, it is important that they exercise for at least 17 minutes per day. If they exercise less, there is a high probability that the patient will require more assistance at home after discharge than before admission. If patients exercise between 17 and 40 minutes per day, their current fitness level remains stable.
To assess the fitness of patients already during hospitalization improve, they should exercise for 40 minutes or more per day.
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For patients after surgery, it is important to exercise for an extra 15 minutes every day. To this end, we have developed the following decision aid:
On screens in patient rooms: '7 minute workouts'
In addition to a patient leaflet and exercise guides with various exercises, patients can 7 minute workouts view their patient room on the screens under the 'Relaxation and exercise' button. View the workouts.
In a Movement Hospital
- Do patients spend more time exercising?
- Almost not a single patient is still wearing pajamas or slippers.
- Is the environment attractive for physical activity? For example, there are activity rooms, meals are served in a ward restaurant, and patients can walk various walking routes.
- Does every patient know why exercise is important, and do healthcare providers help them move more?
- Healthcare providers measure physical activity daily and discuss this with patients. It is part of standard care.
Results
Since the start of the project in 2016, many great results have been achieved to encourage more physical activity during hospitalization, both inside and outside UMC Utrecht.
Within the UMC Utrecht
Exercise plan per department
Various departments have created a tailored exercise plan for each patient and examined how exercise can be integrated into work processes and patient care. The results of the study show that, thanks to these exercise plans, patients spend 30 minutes less per day lying in bed—between 9:00 and 16:00—and consequently get out of bed more often. Read the results of this research. (English)
Physical activity behavior in focus across all departments
In recent years, patients have been observed in all departments of the UMC Utrecht. These results show, among other things:
- Patients spend 90 percent of the time lying or sitting, while 67 percent of patients can move independently!
- Around lunchtime, 45 percent of the patients are out of bed; an hour later, that is only 20 percent.
- Patients are in their rooms 86 percent of the time: 3 percent of the time they walk in the hallway.
Read the results of this research. (English)
Outside the UMC Utrecht
Guideline ‘Movement Hospitals’
In 2021, it became the ‘Position of Exercise Hospitalsdeveloped, based on scientific insights and practical experience of physiotherapists. It offers practical tips and examples to implement tools and interventions that promote physical activity during hospitalization.
More information?
Would you like more information about physical activity, or do you have questions about the UMC Utrecht in Motion project?
Then look at the information page for patients.
You can also contact the Department of Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy Science & Sport via telephone number 088 755 88 31, or email to beweging@umcutrecht.nl.
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