Comparison of the clinicians’ and experts’ assessments of rehabilitation service needs for patients in the middle of China

Clinicians' assessments of patients' rehabilitation needs are crucial, as they directly influence the continuity of care. However, the ability of clinicians to accurately assess these needs remains unclear. The purpose of the study is to compare the assessments of rehabilitation service needs for patients made by clinicians and experts, and to examine any differences across various levels of healthcare institutions. A total of 40 clinical vignettes were used to evaluate the consistency between clinicians and experts. The final analysis included 167 participants, consisting of 164 clinicians from 112 healthcare institutions and three rehabilitation experts from tertiary care hospital in China. The measurements included the general characteristics of the clinicians, the current status of tiered service assessments, and consistency with expert assessments. Kendall's W test was used to analyze the consistency of rehabilitation service needs assessments between clinicians and experts. Among the overall sample, the consistency rate between clinicians and experts was found to be 35.2% (Kendall's W = 0.140, p < 0.001). Compared with county hospitals (consistency rate: 40.4%; Kendall's W = 0.439, p < 0.001), township health centers (consistency rate: 36.1%; Kendall's W = 0.209, p < 0.001) and village health centers (consistency rate: 34.2%; Kendall's W = 0.104, p < 0.001) showed relatively lower consistency between clinicians and experts. The findings indicate that clinicians' ability to assess patients' rehabilitation needs remains suboptimal, particularly in primary healthcare settings such as township and village health centers. Therefore, it is imperative to enhance and standardize clinicians' capabilities in assessing the need for rehabilitation services.