Efficacy of rehabilitation interventions evaluated in common neurological conditions in improving participation outcomes: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Modern clinical rehabilitation practice aligned to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities highlights the importance of attention to participation in the rehabilitation formulation. This systematic review investigates the efficacy of rehabilitation interventions evaluated in common neurological disorders reported to influence participation outcomes.

DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO databases were searched from inception to 25 April 2023. Only randomised controlled trials were considered for inclusion.

REVIEW METHODS: The data were extracted by two independent reviewers in the following categories: characteristics of the included study publications, description of intervention and outcome measures.

RESULTS: A total of 1248 unique article records were identified through the databases. Twenty-eight randomized controlled trials were included with 15 publications having participation as a primary outcome measure. Articles were related to multiple sclerosis ( N  = 4), spinal cord injury ( N  = 2), stroke ( N  = 16) and traumatic brain injury ( N  = 6). Four publications showed significant differences in pre- and post-intervention within experimental groups. All four articles described participation as primary outcome measure.

CONCLUSION: There is a limited evidence of the identified rehabilitation interventions to improve participation in common neurological conditions. However, there was a paucity of articles involving individual with Parkinson's disease that met the inclusion criteria.