Barriers to rehabilitation research, and overcoming them

Although rehabilitation is thought to be underresearched, some data suggest that evaluative randomized controlled trials (RCTs) form a greater proportion of studies in rehabilitation research than in the general medical literature. Various obstacles to more evaluative research are sometimes put forward. These include suggestions that it is unethical, that the personalized nature of rehabilitation coupled with the unique problems of each patient make it impossible to study groups, that patients will not agree to enter trials, and that the funding mechanisms for both service and research are not available. In practice these arguments probably reflect low self-confidence within the profession. Education of the profession, public and purchasers should help in the long term. Meanwhile rehabilitation research would benefit from the development of stable research units of adequate size conjoined with clinical units.