Why the future of rehabilitation may be surprisingly simple
The demand for rehabilitation care is growing rapidly. Towards 2040, the number of stroke patients is expected to increase by 50%, while the number of people with Parkinson’s disease is expected to rise by 70%. At the same time, healthcare systems are facing increasing workforce shortages and financial pressure.
Within the Convergence Human Mobility Center researchers from Erasmus MC, TU Delft, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Rijndam are therefore working from a striking vision: the future of rehabilitation does not necessarily lie in ever more complex technology, but rather in simple, affordable solutions that support people in their recovery at home.
The team shows that successful innovation is not only about technology. Their research suggests that factors such as ease of use, trust, inclusion, support from healthcare professionals and alignment with daily life are often more decisive for impact than the technology itself. These insights have been brought together in ten factors that help explain why healthcare innovations do or do not land in practice.
In this interview, Gerard Ribbers, Laura Marchal Crespo and Jane Murray Cramm explain how transdisciplinary collaboration can lead to new solutions for one of the greatest challenges in healthcare: how can we give more people access to high-quality rehabilitation care with fewer resources?
These 10 factors determine whether an innovation such as simple home-based rehabilitation technology can land in practice:
- Fit with daily life. The technology must fit people’s routines, living conditions and energy levels.
- Simplicity and intuitiveness. The less explanation is needed, the greater the chance of use, especially among vulnerable groups.
- Perceived added value for the user. People need to feel for themselves: this helps me move forward, physically and mentally.
- Person-centred flexibility. Not one standard solution, but room for adaptation to personal goals, pace and abilities.
- Trust and safety. Both patients and professionals must have confidence in the technology, the data and the support provided.
- Support from healthcare professionals. Adoption is more likely when healthcare professionals see technology as strengthening their work, not threatening it.
- Organisational embedding. Technology must fit within workflows, responsibilities and existing care pathways.
- Financial and institutional feasibility. Without appropriate reimbursement and incentives, scaling remains difficult, no matter how strong the innovation is.
- Long-term user involvement. Co-creation is not a one-off workshop, but an ongoing process of learning and improving together.
- Attention to inclusion and health inequalities. Innovations must not increase inequality; inclusion should be explicitly designed for and monitored.
