Exploring the emerging concept of precision rehabilitation: a qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Science
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Precision rehabilitation is an emerging field.
• Understanding knowledge user perspectives is crucial for its development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore knowledge users' perspectives on precision rehabilitation concepts.
• To identify barriers and facilitators to precision rehabilitation.
• To determine future directions for precision rehabilitation.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive qualitative study using semi-structured interviews.
• Convenience and snowball sampling of 16 clinicians, administrators, and researchers.
• Conventional qualitative content analysis with a deductive thematic approach.

Main Results:

• Precision rehabilitation shares concepts with precision medicine but uniquely emphasizes personalization.
• Facilitators include unobtrusive technology for data collection; barriers include small, heterogeneous sample sizes.
• Future directions involve collaborative data-sharing to enhance functional outcomes.

Conclusions:

• This study offers the first qualitative synthesis of knowledge user perspectives on precision rehabilitation.
• Findings complement quantitative evidence and inform the development of precision rehabilitation.
• Collaborative data-sharing is key to advancing precision rehabilitation and improving patient outcomes.