From collaboration to care: Using co-design principles and caring science to guide professional rehabilitation nursing practice

Abstract

An ambulatory rehabilitation service is a multidisciplinary rehabilitation service that provides an organised system of care in an ambulatory outpatient setting. Ambulatory rehabilitation services play an important role in mitigating patient readmission to hospital and maximising community integration. However, there is a paucity of studies concerning how consumers engage in an ambulatory rehabilitation service. Positive associations have previously been noted between patient experience and clinical effectiveness of specialised ambulatory rehabilitation across a wide range of disease areas, population groups and rehabilitation outcome measures. This relationship between patient experience and clinical effectiveness also appears to hold true for patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation. However, limited research exists exploring patient experience within an ambulatory rehabilitation setting.