Sebastian Liste / NOOR for WHO
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Rehabilitation

    Overview

    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. Anyone may need rehabilitation at some point in their lives, whether they have experienced an injury, disease, illness, or because their functioning has declined with age.

    Globally, 1 in 3 people today are estimated to be living with a health condition that would benefit from rehabilitation. This need is predicted to increase in the coming years due to changes in the health and characteristics of the population. For example, people are living longer but with more chronic disease and disability. Emergencies, including conflicts, disasters and outbreaks can all create surges in rehabilitation needs. Globally, many people are living with mid- and long-term consequences of COVID-19 and may be in need of rehabilitation to support their recovery from the disease.

    Impact

    Although the need for rehabilitation is increasing globally, many countries are unequipped to respond to existing needs. In some low- and middle-income countries, more than 50% of people do not receive the rehabilitation services they require. Rehabilitation services are often under funded and under valued, particularly in countries without strong health systems.

    Rehabilitation helps to reduce the impacts of disease and injury on individuals, while also complimenting other health interventions. This means it can be seen as an investment in health care costs because it can lower long term reliance on health systems through reducing hospitalization, shortening hospital stays and preventing readmissions. The investment pays off further by enabling people to return to work, education and other pursuits more quickly following the health issue.

    Rehabilitation is a neglected but essential part of emergency response and long-term recovery. Emergencies disproportionately effect weaker health systems and the most vulnerable, but early and ongoing access to rehabilitation reduces complications, optimizes functioning and reduces disability in those affected, supporting individuals, families and communities in their recovery. 

    WHO response

    WHO views rehabilitation as an essential part of achieving both universal health coverage and goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, WHO works to make rehabilitation part of health care at all levels through efforts to strengthen health systems as a whole.  

    In 2017 WHO launched the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative, which emphasizes the need for concerted and coordinated action by all stakeholders to strengthen the health system to provide quality and timely rehabilitation. This occurs through actions such as improving leadership and governance; developing a strong multidisciplinary rehabilitation workforce; expanding financing for rehabilitation; and improving data collection and research on rehabilitation. In emergencies, we are developing tools to help strengthen rehabilitation preparedness, while also working to better integrate rehabilitation into responses.

    WHO continues to support countries to implement these actions through providing technical support, developing guidance and practical tools, and increasing the development of robust evidence for rehabilitation. These efforts focus both on local and national health systems, as well as responses to emergencies to ensure rehabilitation services are available to anyone who needs them.

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    Latest publications

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    Strengthening rehabilitation in health emergency preparedness, readiness, response and resilience: policy brief

    Strengthening rehabilitation in health emergency preparedness, response, and resilience: policy brief outlines the evidence for rehabilitation in emergencies...

    Package of interventions for rehabilitation: module 2: musculoskeletal conditions: web annex: literature reviews and evidence tables

    The Package of interventions for rehabilitation outlines the most essential interventions for rehabilitation for 20 health conditions. For each...

    Package of interventions for rehabilitation: module 6: sensory conditions: web annex: literature reviews and evidence tables

    The Package of interventions for rehabilitation outlines the most essential interventions for rehabilitation for 20 health conditions. For each...

    Package of interventions for rehabilitation: module 7: malignant neoplasm: web annex: literature reviews and evidence tables

    The Package of interventions for rehabilitation outlines the most essential interventions for rehabilitation for 20 health conditions. For each...

    Documents

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    screenshot of first page with Rehabilitation 2030 logo

    The Guide for Rehabilitation Workforce Evaluation (GROWE) comprises a suite of resources that can be applied in countries to provide information to...

    RHIS collect health service data directly from the health facilities, provided by the health care workers. They provide frequent (e.g. monthly) and real-time...

    Global and demographic trends indicate an increasing need for rehabilitation as a result of population ageing, increasing prevalence in noncommunicable...

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