Geriatric rehabilitation is not only about the medical condition or functional limitations. Psychological, social and environmental factors also play an important role in the recovery process. These factors influence not only rehabilitation outcomes, but also treatment planning, decision-making and collaboration between healthcare professionals.
This PhD project focuses on better understanding, describing and interpreting complexity in geriatric rehabilitation. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model is used as a framework to examine functioning and recovery from a broad perspective.
Systematic literature review
In the first study (2024), a systematic literature review was conducted on factors within the ICF model that are associated with outcomes of geriatric rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to gain insight into which body functions, activities, participation and environmental factors have been linked in the literature to rehabilitation outcomes in older persons.
Study using routine practice data from patients with COPD
In the second study (2025), routine practice data from patients with COPD receiving geriatric rehabilitation were used. This study examined which clinical and psychosocial factors are associated with disease-related health outcomes.
Qualitative interview study
The third study, which is currently ongoing, focuses on the experiences of elderly care physicians with complexity in geriatric rehabilitation. Through interviews across the Netherlands, we examine how they recognise personal and environmental factors, which factors they take into account, and how these factors play a role in treatment planning and decision-making. The study also explores the challenges and considerations they encounter in daily practice.
The aim of the subsequent studies and the broader research line is to make complexity in geriatric rehabilitation more visible and to better understand which personal and environmental factors influence the rehabilitation process. In doing so, the research may contribute to care that is better aligned with the needs of the rehabilitation patient and to a better understanding of the psychosocial factors that may play a role in the rehabilitation process.
Presentations
- Poster presentation, Verenso GRZ Congress 2024
- Poster presentation, DCRM 2025, selected among the top 10 posters
- Presentation/poster, Stroke/Acquired Brain Injury Symposium 2025