Background for the project

The need for rehabilitation in primary and specialized healthcare services is expected to grow in the future, and it is crucial for both individual patients and society to acquire knowledge about the effects of the interventions offered. Currently, there is limited systematic knowledge about the patients participating in specialized rehabilitation services and the impacts of these services, due to a lack of data. There are clear directives from the regional health authorities and the Norwegian Directorate of Health regarding new service models, which include a reduction in inpatient rehabilitation, shorter treatment courses, increased use of digital services, and a transfer of responsibility from health enterprises to the municipal level. With such a comprehensive change in service offerings, there is a need for a solid knowledge base about existing rehabilitation services to develop and evaluate future evidence-based service models.

 

Project plan

In this project, we will conduct an observational study to describe the medical and demographic characteristics of rehabilitation patients and examine changes in patients’ health, function, and quality of life after rehabilitation. In an observational study, researchers observe and record behaviour or events without manipulating or influencing them. An important aspect of the project is to investigate whether digital services change the types of patients who seek specialized rehabilitation, and whether the use of digital services affects the outcomes of rehabilitation.

This project will utilize clinically collected information about patients participating in rehabilitation, including diagnoses, physical activity levels, medication use, functional status, socioeconomic status, employment status, referring institution, and outcome measures on standardized clinical questionnaires and tests within physical and mental function.

The project includes patients with all diagnoses and all rehabilitation services, including amputation, heart diseases, lung diseases, chronic myofascial pain disorder,  rheumatology, orthopedics, CFS/ME, cancer, neurological and neuromuscular diseases, severe obesity, sensory disorders, patients with complex conditions, work-oriented rehabilitation, and acquired brain injury.

The project includes patients from ten different rehabilitation units dating back to 2019, and the project will continue to collect data until 2026. The rehabilitation centers involved are: Unicare Coperio, Unicare Helsefort, Unicare Røros, Unicare Steffensrud, Unicare Landaasen, Unicare Hokksund, Unicare Fram, Unicare Friskvern, Unicare Jeløy, and Unicare Bakke. Data is stored in an internal registry approved for research purposes, and the registry consists of approximately 40,000 patients as of 2024.

The project is approved by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics (REK South-East, project number 546776).