Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42786497›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2026

Bridging gaps in the care of people under the age of 60 with complex impairments through cross-indication home-based rehabilitation: a cross-sectional survey with experts in Germany.

Christoph Armbruster, Christian Schlett, Erik Farin-Glattacker

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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.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Christoph ArmbrusterSection of Health Care Research and Rehabilitation Research, Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, Medical Faculty and Medical Center - University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany. christoph.armbruster@uniklinik-freiburg.de.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7062-0780
Christian SchlettSection of Health Care Research and Rehabilitation Research, Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, Medical Faculty and Medical Center - University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7237-3477
Erik Farin-GlattackerSection of Health Care Research and Rehabilitation Research, Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, Medical Faculty and Medical Center - University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6867-0316

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn Germany, medical rehabilitation services are generally well developed. However, first evidence suggests that there are care gaps in the current outpatient and inpatient indication-specific rehabilitation landscape, which may particularly affect people under 60 with complex impairments. Home-based rehabilitation could help to bridge these care gaps by providing access to rehabilitation for this group of patients. Currently, there are only a few such services for patients under 60. In this context, a cross-indication approach for needs-based care could be relevant to ensure adequate treatment of rehabilitation needs in their entirety. A systematic survey of a broad sample of experts in this field of research is still lacking. The aim of this exploratory study was therefore to assess the views of experts on (1) care needs of people under 60 with complex impairments that are insufficiently covered by current rehabilitation services, (2) the need and associated benefits of home-based rehabilitation as well as perceptions regarding a cross-indication approach, and (3) indication and allocation criteria for a cross-indication approach of home-based rehabilitation.

methodsWe performed a cross-sectional online survey between 03/2024 and 05/2024 with experts from six professional fields from across Germany. We report descriptive statistics on experts' assessments of a wide range of aspects of rehabilitation care and exploratively examined whether experts from different professional fields differ in their assessments.

resultsA total of n = 136 experts took part in the survey. The majority of them were physicians in private practice. The experts tend to see a high level of unmet care needs in current rehabilitation services. Their positive assessment of home-based rehabilitation in terms of need and benefits, as well as their positive perception of a cross-indication approach, indicate that home-based rehabilitation conceptualised across all indications may help to bridge these care gaps.

conclusionsFrom the experts' perspective, there are various care gaps in current rehabilitation services for people under 60 with complex impairments in Germany. As a complementary service, cross-indication home-based rehabilitation may be a promising but still empirically under-evaluated approach to optimise the functioning of this patient group.

trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register (DRKS): DRKS00029068; Date of registration: 28.06.2022.

Indexed as

Home Care ServicesPersons with DisabilitiesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGermanyHealth Services AccessibilityHumansMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesDisabled personsGermanyHealth services accessibilityHome care servicesNeeds assessmentRehabilitationSurveys and questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID42786497
PMCPMC13602674

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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.