Community Rehabilitation for Rural and Remote Australia: Measuring What Matters Based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF): A Scoping Review
Cairns, Alice, and Barker, Ruth (2025) Community Rehabilitation for Rural and Remote Australia: Measuring What Matters Based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF): A Scoping Review. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 33 (2). e70017.
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Abstract
Objective: To review the quantitative outcome measures that have been used to evaluate community rehabilitation services delivered across rural and remote Australia. Design: A scoping review was completed and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for Scoping Reviews. Methods: Peer-reviewed, original research published between January 2010–September 2023 was searched using MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, Cochrane database, Joanna Briggs Library, PsychINFO, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Studies were selected if they involved allied health outpatient, subacute or nonacute services for Australian rural or remote dwelling populations. Participants were required to have an underlying impairment. Face-to-face or telehealth delivery in a rural and remote location was included. Measures were identified and then mapped to the ICF domains of activity and participation, as well as quality of life. Results: A total of 27 studies were included that yielded 40 different outcome measures of activity, participation and/or quality of life. Few measures, however, were used consistently across studies, and even fewer demonstrated a significant change across more than one study. Most studies evaluated single interventions, and few studies evaluated the service model as a whole. Conclusion: To ensure robust evaluation of community rehabilitation services in rural and remote Australia, a core data set and common framework for evaluation of community rehabilitation services is required. The evaluation framework must ensure consistency in measurement that reflects rural and remote service models and takes into account the environment in which services are delivered.
| Item ID: | 88147 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 1440-1584 |
| Keywords: | activity, allied health, evaluation, participation, quality of life |
| Copyright Information: | © 2025 The Author(s). Australian Journal of Rural Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of National Rural Health Alliance Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. |
| Date Deposited: | 26 Mar 2026 03:27 |
| FoR Codes: | 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4201 Allied health and rehabilitation science > 420109 Rehabilitation @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 20 HEALTH > 2001 Clinical health > 200105 Treatment of human diseases and conditions @ 100% |
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