Analyzing the trends in intervention studies of rehabilitation nursing: a literature review

The present study reviewed the literature to determine the trends in rehabilitation nursing intervention programs by systematically analyzing previous studies including rehabilitation nursing interventions, seeking insight to reconstruct future rehabilitation programs, and exploring research directions for future rehabilitation nursing intervention studies. About 94 intervention studies published from the inaugural issue of the Journal of the Korean Society of Rehabilitation Nursing to 2022 were analyzed. Among them, 33 studies were published between 2001 and 2005, followed by 25 studies between 2011 and 2015. All studies were authored by nurses. Concerning the types of rehabilitation nursing intervention programs, exercise interventions were more common than educational interventions. The exercise intervention programs improved performance in daily activities and decreased pain. The education intervention programs improved knowledge and increased the implementation of health behaviors. Based on these findings, we intend to ascertain the roles and functions of rehabilitation nurses in the mid-to-long-term and develop a specialized rehabilitation nurse system with expertise and science that meets the current trends of an increasing demand for rehabilitation nursing in various institutions such as rehabilitation hospitals, homes, welfare rehabilitation centers, and long-term care facilities, taking the field of rehabilitation nursing to another level.