What matters in rehabilitation: a mixed methods study of critical success factors from the perspectives of patients and healthcare professionals

The success of rehabilitation is usually assessed based on the results reported by patients and physicians. However, these assessments often vary and frequently fail to take psychosocial and contextual factors into account. This study investigated how Patient Researchers (PRs) and Healthcare Professional Researchers (HPRs) perceive rehabilitation outcomes and which Critical Success Factors (CSFs) they consider most influential. Using a participatory mixed-methods design, 90 anonymized patient records were evaluated and divided into groups based on good, poor, and conflicting outcomes. The participants - 3 PRs and 24 HPRs - assessed the success of rehabilitation and the potential significance of previously identified CSFs. In contrast to the HPRs, the PRs attributed greater influence to psychosocial factors. The HPRs generally provided a more accurate assessment of the outcome ratings in the patient records, correctly classifying 54.5% vs. 47.7%. Ultimately, the most important CSFs were incorporated into the Rehabilitation Expectation and Perception Scale (REPS), a screening instrument for identifying context-sensitive factors that influence rehabilitation success. This new approach supports personalized, context-sensitive rehabilitation planning, aiming to optimize treatment and facilitate a more nuanced assessment of rehabilitation success.