Knowledge Needs in Rehabilitation: Perspectives of Service Users and Professionals.
Salla Sipari, Mia Tammelin, Sari Helenius and 4 others
PMID 36188953WHAT IT FOUND
Rehabilitation professionals and service users in Finland described needing evidence that fits individual lives, supports collaboration and remote rehabilitation, and is easy to access.
The study reports what they said they need, not whether any intervention works.
Key findings
01One set of focus groups reported current knowledge needs covering six topics: enabling meaningful life, collaboration and inclusion, development and decision-making, professional competence, applying research, and conducting applied research.
02Professionals said they need scientific evidence to maintain and demonstrate competence and to justify their methods to employers, managers and funders.
03Remote rehabilitation, digitalisation and AI were seen as key factors, and participants asked for information about what remote rehabilitation is, what it brings, and its effectiveness.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample was purposive and included 37 participants, so the themes cannot be generalized to all rehabilitation professionals or service users. Some professions, for example physiotherapists, were highlighted in the sample, which may make their knowledge needs more visible in the results. Study 1 included service users and relatives, but Study 2 included only professionals, so the two regional datasets are not directly comparable in whose perspectives they capture. The interviews were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have made remote rehabilitation more prominent than it would be otherwise. Different researchers collected and analysed the two regional datasets, and researchers' own rehabilitation experience may have shaped the themes.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture (Grant Number 411287). The supplied text does not report author conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that remote rehabilitation, AI, or any other intervention is effective. The paper reports what professionals and service users said they need to know, not tested treatment outcomes.