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Rehabilitation

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Geriatric Medicine

Abstract

Rehabilitation is a process of care directed at restoring or maintaining a person’s ability to live as independently as possible. It involves recovering from and adapting to the loss of physical, psychological, or social skills as a result of illness or trauma. Ultimately, those receiving rehabilitation hope to live in personally satisfying environments and maintain meaningful social relationships. In geriatrics, rehabilitation shifts from a goal of returning the patient to gainful employment to helping the older person live more independently. This type of care can be provided in any health care setting, including the home, office, acute or rehabilitation hospital, and long-term-care institution. An interdisciplinary team approach is required due to the complex nature of the various interventions. Patients and their families must be involved in decisions regarding rehabilitation treatment. Indeed, rehabilitation is a philosophical approach to the patient that recognizes that diagnoses are poor predictors of functional abilities, that having a disability does not diminish one’s social worth, and that the psychosocial aspects of care are at least as important as the medical aspects of care. Rehabilitation is an essential component of quality geriatric care that should be available to all those who might benefit.1 Recently, the American Geriatrics Society has recognized the importance of rehabilitation in its Public Policy Position statement (Table 17.1).

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Authors
  1. Kenneth Brummel-Smith
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Henry L. Schwartz Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, 10029-6574, New York, NY, USA

    Christine K. Cassel M.D. (Professor and Chairman) & Diane E. Meier M.D. (Associate Professor) (Professor and Chairman) &  (Associate Professor)

  2. Center for Study of Aging and Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Duke University Medical Center, 27710, Durham, NC, USA

    Harvey J. Cohen M.D. (Director) (Director)

  3. University of Washington Medical Center, 98195, Seattle, WA, USA

    Eric B. Larson M.D., M.P.H. (Medical Director) (Medical Director)

  4. Gerontology Division, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 02115, Boston, MA, USA

    Neil M. Resnick M.D. (Chief) (Chief)

  5. Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Sepulveda VA Medical Center, 91343, Sepulveda, CA, USA

    Laurence Z. Rubenstein M.D., M.P.H. (Director) (Director)

  6. Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, 60637, Chicago, IL, USA

    Leif B. Sorensen M.D. (Professor and Vice Chairman) (Professor and Vice Chairman)

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Brummel-Smith, K. (1997). Rehabilitation. In: Cassel, C.K., et al. Geriatric Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2705-0_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2705-0_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-2707-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-2705-0

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