Rehabilitation addresses the needs of people with disabilities and chronic health conditions across the lifespan to achieve independent and meaningful social participation. It aims to empower individuals through interventions to maximize health and functional abilities. Rehabilitation is a fundamental part of healthcare needed to achieve optimal outcomes from other treatments and can benefit anyone with physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments. It also helps shorten hospital stays, lower readmission risks, and reduce secondary health complications, making it a cost-effective investment. Rehabilitation psychology focuses on applying psychological knowledge to help people with disabilities adjust and participate in social, personal and vocational roles.

1. Meaning
• Rehabilitation is an integrated program of interventions that empower
indivuduals with disabilities and chronic health conditions to achieve
“personally fulfilling, socially meaningful, and functionally effective
interactoin” in their daily contexts (Riggar & Maki, 2004)
• It addresses the needs of a broad range of people across the lifespan.
• Rehabilitation is a fundamental component of health care, often needed to
achieve and maintain the best outcomes for other health interventions
such as surgery, trauma care and management of noncommunicable
diseases
• Rehabilitation is needed by anyone with a health condition, impairment or
injury, acute or chronic, that limits functioning.
• People with severe, long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory
impairments may benefit substantially from rehabilitation

2. • Rehabilitation is a good investment as it is cost-effective. It shortens
hospital stays, decreases re-admissions and reduces the risks of
secondary complications due to health problems
• Rehabilitation is also relevant across the lifespan - for children, adults
and old.

3. REHABILITATION PSYCHOLOGY
• Definition - Rehabilitation psychology is a specialty area within psychology taht focuses
on the study and application of psychological knowledge and skills on behalf of
individuals with disabilities and chronic halth ocnditions in order to maximize health and
welfare, indpendence and choice, functional abilities and social role participation across
the life span (haagglund &Heinemann, 2006)
• Beginnings - rehabilitation psychology was among the first specialties to operate in health
care settings and focus on personal health and optimal adjustment in social, personal,
and vocational roles among people with disabilities and chronic health problems.
• In general terms, the Industrial Revolution is recognized as the major precursor to federal
and public policies concerning rehabilitation.
• In 1908, a presidential committee concluded that public health was a responsibility of the
federal government, being too much of a responsibility for private charities to address
alone.
• Federal Employees Compensation Act of 1908, the first worker’s compensation legislation
was enacted to assist federal workers employed in hazardous occupations. By 1921, most
states had enacted legislation to provide disabled workers with some form of
compensation.

4. • The Smith–Hughes Act of 1917 provided states with matchingfunds to
develop vocational education programs, and the Federal Board of
Vocational Education was created toadminister vocational
rehabilitation(VR) programs under this same legislation.
• The Soldiers Rehabilitation Act (1918) provided funds to rehabilitate
disabled veterans.
• In 1921, the Veterans Bureau was created, later called as the Department
of Veterans Affairs.