Perceptions About Physical Rehabilitation Among Different Age Groups: A Scoping Review

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Abstract Body : Introduction and Objective
Young-aged adults (18-44 years old) often have better physical rehabilitation outcomes compared to middle/older-aged adults (45 or greater years old). Expectations and attitudes toward rehabilitation may have implicit effects on success rates. We performed a scoping review of literature characterizing the attitudes that young-aged adults versus middle/older-aged adults have towards physical rehabilitation.

Materials and Methods
Databases from Pubmed, Embase, and Scopus were searched on 10/18/22 with no timeframe limit following PRISMA guidelines. Studies were inclusive of full articles in English, patients 18 years or older, and surveys of opinions surrounding physical rehabilitation.

Results
Twelve studies were identified: 58% cross-sectional surveys, 8% registry studies, 8% global internet surveys, 17% longitudinal cohorts, and 8% randomized controlled trials. Of the four studies with young-aged adults, 25% viewed rehabilitation for any physical disability favorably in conjunction with service dogs, 50% perceived spinal cord or sports injury rehabilitation as necessary when social support and mental health were addressed, and 25% had ambivalent views of rehabilitation dependent on the presence of continued chronic pain. Of the eight studies with middle/older-aged adults, 50% post-stroke had high expectations or perceived rehabilitation as favorable when the mode was through telehealth, gaming, or aerobic exercise, 25% from road traffic crashes observed mental health as an essential correlate for rehabilitation success, and 25% viewed spinal cord injury rehabilitation unfavorably after continued tetraplegia or paraplegia.

Conclusion
Young-aged adults may have a more positive outlook than middle/older-aged adults on rehabilitation. However, there is not enough evidence to conclude that age is the primary factor for this observation.

Significance/Implication
Our scoping review reveals that type of injury, rehabilitation outcomes, and emphasis on parameters perceived as necessary by patients were more critical to patient-perception about physical rehabilitation than age was. More research is needed to determine correlates with patient age and their attitudes toward rehabilitation, as well as their effects on outcomes.