Unmet needs for rehabilitation services can result in poor outcomes for people with disabilities including deterioration in general health status, activity limitations, participation restrictions and reduced quality of life. These negative outcomes can have broad social and financial implications for individuals, families and communities. The World report on disability highlighted that while some people with disabilities have complex rehabilitation needs that require management in specialized settings, the majority of people require fairly low-cost, modest rehabilitation services that can be delivered in mainstream health settings.
• To determine what service provision models work for different health conditions/resource settings/phases to ensure the provision of rehabilitation services?
• To determine what types of assessment tools can be used to ensure individual’s rehabilitation needs are adequately identified?
The results from this review will become part of the World Health Organization’s guideline on health related rehabilitation. Partners in this project include the World Health Organization, the University of Toronto, the Institute of Rehabilitation, and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Sao Paulo – Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.