Rehabilitation definition for research purposes. A global stakeholders' initiative by Cochrane Rehabilitation.
Stefano Negrini, Melissa Selb, Carlotte Kiekens and 4 others
PMID 35306803WHAT IT FOUND
Cochrane Rehabilitation defined 'rehabilitation' for research as a multimodal, collaborative process targeting capacity and context to optimize functioning.
This excludes single interventions provided outside a full rehabilitation cycle, clarifying which studies actually test rehabilitation versus isolated treatments.
Key findings
01The new definition requires an intervention to be multimodal, person-centered, and collaborative, targeting capacity or contextual factors to optimize functioning in persons experiencing or likely to experience disability.
02Single interventions provided by rehabilitation professionals outside a rehabilitation process are explicitly excluded from being classified as 'rehabilitation' under this definition.
03Stakeholders reached over 80% agreement on introducing the term 'collaborative' to acknowledge the participation of both persons receiving care and providers.
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
The study is a consensus process, not a clinical trial, so it does not provide evidence on the efficacy of specific interventions. The definition is designed for research classification, not clinical practice guidelines, so it may not directly change daily therapeutic decision-making. Stakeholder agreement was high but not unanimous, and the definition is explicitly labeled as a 'first edition' subject to future refinement. The process relied on expert opinion and Delphi surveys, which may not fully capture the perspectives of all clinicians or patients in diverse settings.
Declared interests
The project was initiated and led by Cochrane Rehabilitation. Funding and conflicts of interest details are not explicitly stated in the provided text, but the involvement of Cochrane groups and editorial participation suggests a strong institutional alignment with Cochrane's methodological goals.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this definition as a clinical guideline for what treatments to provide. It is a classification tool for research purposes to help systematic reviewers distinguish between true rehabilitation processes and isolated interventions. Clinical effectiveness of specific therapies is not addressed by this consensus.