This study aims to conceptualize the term challenging rehabilitation environment (CRE) and to develop a measuring tool for this environment.
Most geriatric rehabilitation wards in the Netherlands have a CRE. However, because there is no official definition of CRE, wards differ considerably in their interpretation and execution of CRE. Influencing factors for CRE include therapy intensity, group training, independent practice, family participation, task-oriented training, enriched environment, and team dynamics.
The aim of the CREATE study is to substantiate the added value of the concept of CRE. We explore the perspectives of professionals, rehabilitants, and their informal caregivers regarding CRE. By integrating them with the evidence found in the literature, an evidence-based conceptualization of CRE can be formed.
This conceptualization will serve as the basis to developing a tool for measuring CRE on rehabilitation wards as well as a toolbox for optimizing CRE on wards.