THE GERIATRIC TEAM IN THE AMBULATORY (MOB ILE) REHABILITATION - FINDINGS FROM A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY ON EFFECTS OF AMBULATORY (MOBILE) REHABILITATION

This article describes the experiences obtained in a study of ambulato ry (mobile) rehabilitation with stroke patients. The patients had been treated in a rehabilitation clinic before. The ambulatory rehabilitat ion, which lasted 18 months, served to maintain and further develop th e previous success of in-patient rehabilitation. On the one hand, the research project provided empirical evidence for the success of ambula tory rehabilitation. On the other hand, the experiences obtained throu gh this research project indicate that the success of an ambulatory re habilitation concept is dependent on optimal co-operation among member s of the rehabilitation team (physicians, psychologists, physical ther apists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and nursing staff) . In relation, the institutional conditions for effective ambulatory r ehabilitation are only met when physicians in private practice, who ar e responsible for the co-ordination of rehabilitation services, are su pported by physicians in regard to time-consuming home visits, and whe n sufficient numbers of physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists in private practice are available. Unfortunately , these conditions are not fulfilled in many regions of Germany.