Factors influencing clinical decision-making in inpatient rehabilitation: A scoping review.
Caitlin G Dobson, Holly Carrington, Gloria M Hernandez and 3 others
PMID 41885302WHAT IT FOUND
Inpatient rehabilitation therapists said treatment planning depends on patient values and home resources, family input, team roles, communication style, experience, safety, and institutional time and policy pressures.
Key findings
01The review mapped six themes from 51 articles, with therapist sample sizes ranging from 1 to 174.
02Family and caregiver input influenced decisions in 22 studies, including goals, devices, oral trials, and post-discharge support.
03Time, discharge pressure, and policies influenced treatment choices in 40 studies, and therapists reported choosing shorter assessments and compensatory strategies.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
It was a scoping review, not a registered systematic review, so it did not establish treatment effects. The included studies varied in country, design, and therapist sample size. The team noted possible bias toward US workplace norms because they were most familiar with the United States. Few studies explored the reasoning behind decisions or clinicians' satisfaction with decisions. Non-English and non-peer-reviewed articles were excluded.
Declared interests
The authors reported no funding and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that any treatment improves outcomes. The review reports what therapists said influenced decisions, not whether those decisions worked.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →