Why Rehabilitation must have priority during and after the COVID-19-pandemic: A position statement of the Global Rehabilitation Alliance

Gütenbrunner, Christoph; Stokes, Emma; Dreinhöfer, Karsten; Monsbakken, Jan; Clarke, Stéphanie; Côté, Pierre; Urseau, Isabelle; Constantine, David; Tardif, Claude; Balakrishna, Venkatesh; Nugraha, Boya

doi:10.2340/16501977-2713

“…In the time of a pandemic, rehabilitation teams need to continue to follow evidence-based care for patients with neurological conditions, including PD and MS. This is in line with the statement of the Global Rehabilitation Alliance, which claims that it must be ensured that all persons with rehabilitation needs have access to rehabilitation services during the recent COVID-19 pandemic [14]. However, to support these patients, alternative, additional and/or modern forms of rehabilitation interventions may become more important.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 77%

“…According to the Global Rehabilitation Alliance, more scienti c studies related to COVID-19 and rehabilitation are needed [14]. This case report follows this claim by presenting the rare case of a patient with two chronic neurological diseases, PD and MS, who attended our rehabilitation hospital in October 2019, shortly before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and again in May 2020, instantly after a pandemic related interruption of his regular ambulatory physical rehabilitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

The impact of a COVID-19 pandemic-related interruption of regular physical rehabilitation on functional abilities in a patient with two chronic neurological diseases: a case report

Braun

¹

,

Weidmann

²

,

Ammann

³

et al. 2020

Preprint

0

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Background: Regular outpatient rehabilitation is prescribed for many patients with chronic neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease or Multiple Sclerosis, to constantly support patients and their proxies in disease management. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, federal institutions and governments worldwide have directed local or nationwide lockdowns. During these times, the provision of regular outpatient rehabilitation service is drastically limited, making it actually impossible for community-dwelling patients with neurological disorders to receive prescribed rehabilitation interventions.Case presentation: A 67-year-old man with two chronic neurological diseases, Parkinson's disease and Multiple Sclerosis, underwent a 4-week inpatient rehabilitation in our hospital. The patient gained significant functional improvements that he maintained over the following months, supported by the continuation of physiotherapy in the domestic environment. Due to a COVID-19 pandemic related interruption of the regular ambulatory rehabilitation for several weeks, the patient’s functional abilities decreased significantly. Thus, the patient was again referred to our hospital for intensive inpatient rehabilitation to regain his physical functioning and mobility capacity. At hospital discharge, the patient improved most of his physical functioning to a pre-pandemic level.Conclusions: The interruption of a rehabilitation service due to a pandemic-related lockdown can significantly impact the functional abilities of patients with chronic neurological diseases. This case report supports the claim for continuous access to rehabilitation services for all people with rehabilitation needs.

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“…They also recommend that rehabilitation should be individualised, progressive and utilise digital solutions [19][20][21] . How to optimise delivery of community rehabilitation is unknown, but vital to determine, given that rehabilitation services need to cope with additional COVID-19 demand whilst continuing to provide rehabilitation for other, often vulnerable, patient populations 21 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Findings from a recent living systematic review found most publications have been expert opinion about how rehabilitation for long Covid should be delivered, indicating that high-quality research is required 11 . Understanding how to optimally deliver long Covid community rehabilitation is vital, as rehabilitation services need to cope with additional demand while continuing to provide rehabilitation for other, often vulnerable, patient populations 12 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A national survey of community rehabilitation service provision for people with long Covid in Scotland

Duncan

¹

,

Cooper

²

,

Alexander

³

et al. 2021

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Background: Over 50 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed globally as of November 2020. Evidence is rapidly emerging on the epidemiology of COVID-19, and its impact on individuals and potential burden on health services and society. Between 10–35% of people with COVID-19 may experience post-acute long Covid. This currently equates to between 8,129 and 28,453 people in Scotland. Some of these people will require rehabilitation to support their recovery. Currently, we do not know how to optimally configure community rehabilitation services for people with long Covid. Methods: This national survey aimed to provide a detailed description of current community rehabilitation provision for people with long Covid in Scotland. We developed, piloted, and conducted a national electronic survey of current community rehabilitation service provision for people presenting with long Covid symptomatology. Our sample were the Allied Health Professions Directors of all 14 territorial NHS Health Boards in Scotland. Fixed response and narrative data were analysed descriptively. Results: Responses were received from all respondents (14/14), enabling a national picture to be gained. Almost all Health Boards (13/14) currently deliver rehabilitation for people with long Covid within pre-existing services. Fatigue (11/14) and respiratory conditions (9/14) were the two most common presenting problems of patients. Most long Covid community rehabilitation services are delivered through a combination of face-to-face and digital contact (13/14). Conclusions: Community rehabilitation for people with long Covid is an emerging reality. This survey provides a national picture of current community rehabilitation for people with long Covid. We do not know how community rehabilitation can be optimally delivered for this population. This is vital as community rehabilitation services were already under pressure prior to the emergence of COVID-19. Further research is urgently required to investigate the implementation, outcomes and cost-effectiveness of differing models of community rehabilitation for this patient population.

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“…Findings from a recent living systematic review found most publications have been expert opinion about how rehabilitation for long Covid should be delivered, indicating that high-quality research is required 11 . Understanding how to optimally deliver long Covid community rehabilitation is vital, as rehabilitation services need to cope with additional demand while continuing to provide rehabilitation for other, often vulnerable, patient populations 12 . This paper reports a recently conducted national survey of current community rehabilitation provision for people with long Covid.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A national survey of community rehabilitation service provision for people with long Covid in Scotland

Duncan

¹

,

Cooper

²

,

Alexander

³

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Over 50 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed globally as of November 2020. Evidence is rapidly emerging on the epidemiology of COVID-19, and its impact on individuals and potential burden on health services and society. Between 10–35% of people with COVID-19 may experience post-acute long Covid. This currently equates to between 8,129 and 28,453 people in Scotland. Some of these people will require rehabilitation to support their recovery. Currently, we do not know how to optimally configure community rehabilitation services for people with long Covid. Methods: This national survey aimed to provide a detailed description of current community rehabilitation provision for people with long Covid in Scotland. We developed, piloted, and conducted a national electronic survey of current community rehabilitation service provision for people presenting with long Covid symptomatology. Our sample were the Allied Health Professions Directors of all 14 territorial NHS Health Boards in Scotland. Fixed response and narrative data were analysed descriptively. Results: Responses were received from all respondents (14/14), enabling a national picture to be gained. Almost all Health Boards (13/14) currently deliver rehabilitation for people with long Covid within pre-existing services. Fatigue (11/14) and respiratory conditions (9/14) were the two most common presenting problems of patients. Most long Covid community rehabilitation services are delivered through a combination of face-to-face and digital contact (13/14). Conclusions: Community rehabilitation for people with long Covid is an emerging reality. This survey provides a national picture of current community rehabilitation for people with long Covid. We do not know how community rehabilitation can be optimally delivered for this population. This is vital as community rehabilitation services were already under pressure prior to the emergence of COVID-19. Further research is urgently required to investigate the implementation, outcomes and cost-effectiveness of differing models of community rehabilitation for this patient population.

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Why Rehabilitation must have priority during and after the COVID-19-pandemic: A position statement of the Global Rehabilitation Alliance

Cited by 53 publications

References 14 publications

The impact of a COVID-19 pandemic-related interruption of regular physical rehabilitation on functional abilities in a patient with two chronic neurological diseases: a case report

The impact of a COVID-19 pandemic-related interruption of regular physical rehabilitation on functional abilities in a patient with two chronic neurological diseases: a case report

A national survey of community rehabilitation service provision for people with long Covid in Scotland

A national survey of community rehabilitation service provision for people with long Covid in Scotland

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