The path to recovery: treatment adherence mediates the effect of subjective age on rehabilitation outcomes in older adults

OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to test the effect of subjective age on rehabilitation outcomes in older patients following hip osteoporotic fracture or stroke. Additionally, we tested the hypothesis that adherence to therapy mediates the effect of subjective age on outcomes. METHODS AND MEASURES: = 158, mean age = 77.15, age range = 64-98) reported their subjective age during the first week of rehabilitation, physiotherapists reported adherence to therapy throughout rehabilitation, and rehabilitation outcomes (rehabilitation effectiveness) were assessed by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare personnel using the Functional Independence Measure. RESULTS: As hypothesised, the results revealed that a younger subjective age during the first week of rehabilitation predicted higher rehabilitation effectiveness. Moreover, this effect of subjective age was mediated by higher adherence to the therapeutic protocol during rehabilitation. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the significance of subjective age not just as a predictor of health outcomes but also as an antecedent to coping with health crises, further elucidating the behavioural mechanisms underlying the link between subjective age and rehabilitation effectiveness.