Gerold Stucki, Jerome Bickenbach, Christoph Gutenbrunner, John Melvin
Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Lucerne, Frohburgstrasse 3, P.O. Box 4466, CH-6002 Lucerne, Switzerland. E-mail: gerold.stucki@paraplegie.ch

DOI: 10.2340/16501977-2200

Rehabilitation the health strategy of the 21st Century
Because people are living longer, and living with more disabilities, in the next decades clinical practice and health policy will need to focus more on improving people’s capacity to do the things they want to do in their lives. Rehabilitation has always aimed to optimise people functioning, especially when their diseases are chronic and incurable. So, while health professionals will always be concerned to prevent premature death, to cure disease and promote good health, in the future there will be more need to turn to rehabilitation services to meet people’s needs. Rehabilitation will become the health strategy of the 21st Century.