ABSTRACT

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of visiting patients admitted to rehabilitation nursing hospitals under the context of controlled visits owing to the existence of infectious diseases on functional recovery and psychosocial factors. Methods: This study evaluated the Mini Mental State Examination-K (MMSE-K), Global Deterioration Scale, K-Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), and Grooved pegboard tests for the functional recovery areas of 52 patients admitted to a rehabilitation hospital. Quality of Life (QoL), Emotional aspects of Loneliness and Isolation (ESLI), General Self-Efficacy scale (GSE), and Geriatric Depression Scale were evaluated within the psychosocial domain. The subjects of the study were divided into visiting and non-visiting groups, and the initial and reevaluated data were analyzed. Descriptive statistics, a correspondence sample t-test, a Spearman’s correlation analysis, and a simple regression analysis were used to analyze the collected data. Results: There were 20 visiting groups and 32 non-visiting groups. The K-MBI of the visiting group showed a significant improvement, and the GSE score of the emotional evaluation showed a significant decrease (p < .05). There was a significant improvement in the MMSE-K and K-MBI scores of the visiting group, and the ESLI and Geriatric Depression Scale scores of the emotional evaluation were significantly increased (p < .05). There was also a significant positive correlation between visitation and Global Deterioration Scale, and a significant negative correlation with Quality of Life (p < .05). Conclusion: This study is expected to serve as basic data for the development of an emotional support program for inpatients in rehabilitation hospitals with limited visits owing to the presence of infectious diseases and occupational therapy programs for visitation restrictions.