ArticlePloS one2024
Integrating rehabilitation into health systems: A comparative study of nine middle-income countries using WHO's Systematic Assessment of Rehabilitation Situation (STARS).
Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of rehabilitation interventions for old adults with long COVID: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Journal of global health · 2024Pooled it
- Unmet rehabilitation needs during pregnancy and the postpartum period in a rural, low-resource setting: a cross-sectional study.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- Evaluating data quality at a primary healthcare rehabilitation centre in a low-resource context.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Healing beyond the physical: Ethical approaches to emotional support in post-stroke recovery.African journal of disability · 2026Article
- From professional appeal to professional standard: reframing the Italian rehabilitation workforce through evidence, regulation, and global alignment.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- An integrated rehabilitation workforce within secondary healthcare in Pakistan: a qualitative study with physiotherapists.Health policy and planning · 2025Article
- Rehabilitation needs at rural primary health care settings: perspectives of health center nurses in Burera district of Rwanda.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- International stakeholder consultation on models of rehabilitation service delivery to foster healthy ageing: results of a cross-sectional survey involving 124 countries and all World Health Organization regions.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2025Observational
- Evidence synthesis of health policy and systems research in rehabilitation: a protocol for Cochrane overviews of systematic reviews on delivery, governance, financial arrangements, and implementation strategies.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2025Article
- Practical insights for enhancing primary care rehabilitation services in low-resource contexts.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2025Article
- Content, uptake and adherence of exercise interventions after an acute exacerbation of COPD: a scoping review.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2025Article
- Impact of functional and technical quality on patient satisfaction in prosthetic and orthotic care: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2025Article
- A Qualitative Assessment of Low Vision Care Among Optometric Practitioners in Sub-Saharan Africa Using a Health Systems Framework.Health services insights · 2025Article
- Role and promise of health policy and systems research in integrating rehabilitation into the health systems.Health research policy and systems · 2024Review
- Advancing public health: enabling culture-fair and education-independent automated cognitive assessment in low- and middle-income countries.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Telehealth for complex wheelchair assessment: A scoping review protocol of implementation in low-resource settings.Digital healthArticle
- Rehabilitation Service Delivery Models to Foster Healthy Ageing in the WHO European Region: Results From a Cross-Sectional Stakeholder Consultation Involving 45 Countries.Advances in rehabilitation science and practiceArticle
- Pilot Testing of the WHO Basic Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation (Basic PIR): Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Feasibility Among Primary Care Workers in China, Tajikistan, and Tanzania.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectiveThe need for rehabilitation is growing due to health and demographic trends, especially the rise of non-communicable diseases and the rapid ageing of the global population. However, the extent to which rehabilitation is integrated into health systems is mostly unclear. Our objective is to describe and compare the nature and extent of integration of rehabilitation within health systems across nine middle-income countries using available Systematic Assessment of Rehabilitation Situation (STARS) reports.
methodsCross-country comparative study with variable-oriented design using available rehabilitation health system assessment reports from nine middle income countries.
findingsThe integration of rehabilitation into health systems is limited across countries. Governance and financing for rehabilitation are mostly established within health ministries but weakly so, while health information systems are characterized by no available data or data that is insufficient or not routinely generated. The overall numbers of rehabilitation workforce per capita are low, with frequent reports of workforce challenges. In most countries the availability of longer-stay, high-intensity rehabilitation is extremely low, the availability of rehabilitation in tertiary hospitals is modest and in government supported primary care its almost non-existent. Multiple concerns about rehabilitation quality arose but the lack of empirical data hinders formal appraisal.
conclusionThe study sheds light on the limited integration of rehabilitation in health systems and common areas of difficulty and challenge across nine middle income countries. All countries were found to have a basis on which to strengthen rehabilitation and there were often multiple areas within each health system building block that required action in order to improve the situation. Findings can inform governments, regional and global agencies to support future efforts to strengthen rehabilitation. Additionally, our study demonstrates the value of STARS reports for health policy and systems research and can serve as a model for further comparative studies.
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Registered trials
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