The German system of medical in-patient rehabilitation in children and adolescents.
The prevalence of chronic health conditions in young people is constantly increasing. A very important question is in which setting (in-patient or out-patient) these patients should ideally be treated. In Germany, in-patient rehabilitation of children and adolescents with chronic health conditions has a long history. So far, however, no systematic data concerning structure, process or outcome quality have been assessed across facilities. Therefore, as a first step, a conjoint project of the statutory pension and health insurance institutes was initiated to assess and to describe the structure quality of in-patient medical rehabilitation clinics for children and adolescents in Germany. A questionnaire was filled out by the clinic directors which covered general information and the characteristics of structure quality, as well as structure-affiliated process characteristics of the clinics. The survey was planned as a cross-sectional study. A total of 177 clinic addresses were available. The return rate was 83.3%. Eventually, 79 clinics were included in the analysis. In sum, the results underline the heterogeneity of services in the field of child and adolescent rehabilitation. In conclusion, in-patient rehabilitation plays a major role for the treatment of children and adolescents with chronic health conditions in Germany. The results allow an analysis of the current clinic structures.
Petersen
Corinna
C
Institute and Policlinics of Medical Psychology, University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. copeters@uke.uni-hamburg.de
Widera
Teresia
T
Kawski
Stephan
S
Kossow
Kai
K
Glattacker
Manuela
M
Koch
Uwe
U
D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004493:Education; D005858:Germany; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires