Table 2.

Main content of the postoperative program and differences between the two groups

	Intervention group	Control group
Ward layout	Single and double rooms	Single, double, and four-bed rooms
	24-bed ward, extra beds when needed	27-bed ward, extra beds when needed
		The geriatric control ward was similar to the intervention ward
Staffing	1.07 nurses/aides per bed	1.01 nurses per bed
	Two full-time physiotherapists	Two full-time physiotherapists
	Two full-time occupational therapists	0.5 occupational therapist
	0.2 dietician	No dietician
		The geriatric control ward had staffing similar to the intervention ward
Staff education	A 4-day course in caring, rehabilitation, teamwork, and medical knowledge including sessions about how to prevent, detect, and treat various postoperative complications such as postoperative delirium and falls	No specific education before or during the project
Teamwork	Team included registered nurses (RN), licensed practical nurses (LPN), physiotherapists (PT), occupational therapists (OT), dietician, and geriatricians	No corresponding teamwork at the orthopedic unit
	Close cooperation between orthopedic surgeons and geriatricians in the medical care of the patients	The geriatric ward, where some of the control group patients were cared for, used teamwork similar to that in the intervention ward
Individual care planning	All team members assessed each patient as soon as possible, usually within 24 h, to be able to start the individual care planning	Individual care planning was used in the orthopedic unit but not routinely as in the intervention ward
	Team planning of the patients’ individual rehabilitation process and goals twice a week	At the geriatric rehabilitation unit there was weekly individual care planning
Prevention and treatment of complications	Investigation as far as possible regarding how and why they sustained the hip fracture, through analyzing external and internal fall risk factors	No routine analysis of why the patients had fractured their hips
	An action to prevent new falls and fractures was implemented including global ratings of the patients’ fall risk every week during team meetings	No attempt was made to systematically prevent further falls
	Calcium and vitamin D and other pharmacological treatments for osteoporosis were used when indicated	No routine prescription of calcium and vitamin D
	Active prevention, detection, and treatment of postoperative complications such as delirium, pain, and decubitus ulcers was systematic	Assessments for postoperative complications were made with check-ups for, i.e., saturation, hemoglobin, nutrition, bladder and bowel function, home situation etc., but these check-ups were not carried out systematically as in the intervention group
	Oxygen-enriched air during the 1st postoperative day and longer if necessary until the measured oxygen saturation was stable
	Urinary tract infections and other infections were screened for and treated
	If a urinary catheter was used it should be discontinued within 24 h postoperatively
	Regular screening for urinary retention, and prevention and treatment of constipation
	Blood transfusion was prescribed if B-hemoglobin  <100 g/l and  <110 for those at risk of delirium or those already delirious
	If the patient slept badly, the reason was investigated and the aim was then to treat the cause
Nutrition	Food and liquid registration was systematically performed and protein-enriched meals were served to all patients during the first 4 postoperative days and longer if necessary	A dietician was not available at the orthopedic unit
	Nutritional and protein drinks were served every day	No routine nutrition registration or protein-enriched meals were available for the patients
Rehabilitation	Mobilization within the first 24 h after surgery	Mobilization usually within the first 24 h
	The training included both specific exercise and other rehabilitation procedures delivered by a PT and OT, as well as basic daily ADL performance training, by caring staff. The patients should always do as much as they could by themselves before they were helped	The PT on the ward mobilized the patients together with the caring staff. The PT aimed to meet the lucid patients every day. Functional retraining in ADL situations was not always given. The OT at the orthopedic unit only met the patients for consultation
	The rehabilitation was based on functional retraining with special focus on fall risk factors	The geriatric control ward had both specific exercise and other rehabilitation procedures delivered by a PT and OT, similar to the intervention ward but did not systematically focus on fall risk factors
	Home visit by an OT and/or a PT	No home visits were made by staff from the orthopedic unit