Client participation in medical rehabilitation for adults with severe disabilities

The Social Insurance Institution (SII) of Finland arranges medical rehabilitation for
people with severe disabilities. The rehabilitation process requires collaboration
between the client and several organizations and professionals. The study aimed to
find out what kind of experiences persons with disabilities had on their possibilities of
participation in the planning and process of rehabilitation, and what factors were
associated with the degree of their participation in the rehabilitation process. The study
group was chosen using stratified sampling from among rehabilitation clients. The
data were gathered using a questionnaire survey. Over half of the clients reported
having participated actively in the rehabilitation planning and most found that their
opinions had been taken into account at least fairly well during the planning phase.
The results indicate that special attention should be paid to developing client-driven
approaches in the rehabilitation system and to supporting the participation of clients
who have difficulties in expressing their needs because of their illness, disability, or
educational and social backgrounds.
Keywords: participation; medical rehabilitation; adults; severe disabilities