Incongruence between nurses' and patients' understandings and expectations of rehabilitation.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To explore nurses' understandings and expectations of rehabilitation and nurses' perceptions of patients' understandings and expectations of rehabilitation. BACKGROUND Within the context of a broadening appreciation of the benefits of rehabilitation, interest in the nature of rehabilitation is growing. Some believe that rehabilitation services do not adequately meet the needs of patients. Others are interested in the readiness of patients to participate in rehabilitation. DESIGN Qualitative. METHOD Grounded theory using data collected during interviews with nurses in five inpatient rehabilitation units and during observation of the nurses' everyday practice. FINDINGS According to nurses working in inpatient rehabilitation units, there is a marked incongruence between nurses' understandings and expectations of rehabilitation and what they perceive patients to understand and expect. CONCLUSION Given these different understandings, an important nursing role is the education of patients about the nature of rehabilitation and how to optimise their rehabilitation. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Before patients are transferred to rehabilitation, the purpose and nature of rehabilitation, in particular the roles of patients and nurses, needs to be explained to them. The understandings of rehabilitation that nurses in this study possessed provide a framework for the design of education materials and orientation programmes that inform patients (and their families) about rehabilitation. In addition, reinforcement of the differences between acute care and rehabilitation will assist patients new to rehabilitation to understand the central role that they themselves can play in their recovery.