Importance of Health Policy and Systems Research for Strengthening Rehabilitation in Health Systems: a call to action to accelerate progress

ABSTRACT

During the last few decades, the field of rehabilitation has experienced substantial development, growth, and acceptance. Rehabilitation addresses the impact of a health condition on a person's everyday life by optimizing their functioning and reducing their experience of disability. Rehabilitation expands the focus of health beyond preventative and curative care to ensure people with a health condition can remain as independent as possible and participate in education, work, and meaningful life roles.1 A definition of rehabilitation for research purposes has been recently published.2 Scientific and clinical research have generated a body of knowledge that strongly supports the use of many rehabilitation interventions with positive outcomes in various populations and health conditions.