Patients' perceptions of their participation in rehabilitation planning and professionals' view of their strategies to encourage it

The purposes of this descriptive study were threefold: first, to describe how patients perceived their participation in the planning of their rehabilitation; second, to describe nurses' and occupational therapists' view of the strategies they used to encourage patients' participation; and third, to compare the perceptions of the two groups. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 57 hospitalized patients, 39 nurses and 11 occupational therapists. On the basis of the data patients were categorized as (a) 'relinquishers', (b) 'participants', and (c) 'occasional participants'. Professionals were categorized as 'information providers' and 'rehabilitation practitioners'. The strategies used by the professionals to encourage patient participation were approximately the same irrespective of patient category. It is suggested that professionals need to be sensitive to the patient's desire to participate in the planning of a rehabilitation programme. Further research is recommended to investigate circumstances affecting patients' participation and which strategies professionals can use to encourage their participation.