ArticleBMC health services research2026
Evaluation of a general practitioner-based rehabilitation follow-up consultation to promote patients' use of medical rehabilitation aftercare: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized crossover trial.
Article in BMC health services research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe aim of the study is to investigate whether a structured follow-up consultation with the general practitioner (GP) contributes to an increased use of rehabilitation aftercare by patients after inpatient medical rehabilitation. The focus of the follow-up consultation four to eight weeks after rehabilitation is on supporting patients in implementing aftercare recommendations of their rehabilitation clinic and discussing barriers that prevent them from making use of aftercare services. The study will also investigate whether the intervention can encourage GPs to engage more intensively with medical rehabilitation and thus promote its long-term effectiveness.
methodsThe study will be conducted as a two-period cluster randomized crossover trial using a mixed-methods approach. Participants in the intervention group and the control group will receive the usual recommendations for rehabilitation aftercare during their rehabilitation. Participants in the intervention group will also receive an invitation to a follow-up consultation with their GP. The primary outcome is the self-reported utilization of rehabilitation aftercare four months post-rehabilitation. Self-reported work ability four months post-rehabilitation is assessed as a secondary outcome. For the follow-up consultation, GPs will be provided with a written consultation guide, which will be developed through interviews with GPs. A written patient communication aid will be developed for patients. During the development process, patients will be interviewed to evaluate its comprehensibility and usability. Patient questionnaire data will be collected at three measurement points (T1: end of rehabilitation; T2: after follow-up consultation (intervention group only; four to eight weeks post-rehabilitation); T3: four months post-rehabilitation). Questionnaire data from GPs will be collected via online questionnaires after each follow-up consultation and once toward the end of the data collection period. DISCUSSION: The study aims to investigate the extent to which a brief and low-threshold GP-centered intervention can contribute to an increased utilization of rehabilitation aftercare and thereby improve the sustainability of the effects of medical rehabilitation.
trial registrationDeutsches Register Klinischer Studien (German Clinical Trials Register); date: November 5, 2025; ID: DRKS00038353.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.