From Evidence to Impact: Integrating Rehabilitation to Improve Function, Equity, and Health-System Performance

Abstract

Rehabilitation is an essential component of comprehensive health care, enabling people to optimize functioning, independence, and participation throughout the life course. Nevertheless, substantial unmet need, fragmented care pathways, workforce shortages, and unequal access continue to limit its contribution to health outcomes and health-system performance. Global estimates indicate that approximately 2.41 billion people were living with conditions that could benefit from rehabilitation in 2019, underscoring the scale of this challenge. This short communication examines priorities for translating rehabilitation evidence into meaningful improvements in clinical practice and service delivery. These include integrating rehabilitation across the continuum of care, strengthening multidisciplinary coordination, measuring outcomes that reflect patients’ goals and experiences, addressing inequities in access, and evaluating digital and other technological innovations responsibly. Achieving these priorities requires collaboration among clinicians, researchers, educators, service leaders, patients, and policymakers. Rehabilitation should not be regarded as an optional service delivered only after acute treatment, but as an essential, personcentred component of integrated health systems and universal health coverage.