Community rehabilitation: Strategies, outcomes, expenditures

Government initiatives to restructure long-term care systems have resulted in a burgeoning of community-based adult day care centres for disabled and chronically ill persons. Such centres are currently being scrutinized for cost-effectiveness but conclusions about their expense relative to the expense of a day hospital approach to rehabilitation differs across studies. This survey of clients referred to a community-based rehabilitation centre assessed the comparative functional status of clients, caregivers and expenditures associated with those who received institutional, in-home and community-based centre rehabilitation strategies. Results indicate an inverse relationship between health service use and rehabilitation outcomes. It shows that, for comparably disabled clients, community-based rehabilitation centres can provide an excellent cost-effective alternative to institutional and in-home rehabilitation.

Community rehabilitation: Strategies, outcomes, expenditures Journal Articles