Aim: The primary objective of this study was to determine whether adults with a chronic illness within a primary care setting who received a rehabilitation intervention in this setting showed greater improvement in health status and had fewer hospital admissions and emergency room visits compared with adults who do not receive the intervention. Background: More than half of Canadians (16 million people) live with chronic illness. Persons with chronic illness in primary care, especially older

more »

... sons who are most at risk for functional decline, are currently not receiving effective management. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was used. A rehabilitation multi-component intervention was delivered by a physiotherapist (PT) and occupational therapist in a primary care setting and included collaborative goal setting for rehabilitation needs, a six-week chronic disease self-management (SM) workshop, referral to community programs and a web-based education programme. Findings: Three hundred and three patients participated, n 5 152 intervention group and n 5 151 in the control group. There was a significant difference between the groups for planned hospital days (F 5 6.3, P 5 0.00) with an adjusted difference 0.60 day per person, and increased satisfaction with rehabilitation services however no difference on health status or emergency room visits. This rehabilitation intervention which had a strong SM component prevented planned hospitalizations that resulted in a conservative estimated cost saving from reduced hospitalizations of $65 000. Future research needs to examine which patient groups with chronic illness show positive responses to rehabilitation and self-management.