Rehabilitation: collective construction of a concept in a focus group

Abstract

Background: Human dimensions are transversal to the concepts of health rehabilitation, since they motivate care actions. The aim of this study was to understand rehabilitation from the collective discernment of a multidisciplinary group. Methods: This was participatory research that used a qualitative approach combined with brainstorming and conceptual mapping techniques, in a focus group of a team of researchers from the Laboratory of Research, Teaching, Extension and Technology in Health, Nursing and Rehabilitation of a Federal University in Brazil, with data publication authorised by the participants. Participants were 92% women and 8% men aged between 25 and 62 and who were members of the research group. The thematic analysis occurred from the semantics of words and associated connectors. Results: Actions in structured levels were found in the collective understanding of rehabilitation, which enabled the formation of a theoretical care design. The first level presented love, hope, respect, empathy, understanding, esteem, and self-determination. The second level included the pillars of the (re)habilitation process: praxis, intersubjectivity, and comfortable living as a product. The third level showed the dimensions of the person as a whole: spirituality, (re)signification of the meanings of life, functionality of biophysical structures, and biopsychosocial (re)construction — the environment where the dynamic constitution of identity is internalised. The fourth level was the environment where actors move and transform (becoming), where diversity is manifested and the uniqueness of the person is acknowledged. Conclusions: Rehabilitation is a (co)constructed process based on human attributes that facilitate or may not facilitate transformation. It implies rebuilding of the process of living, with the diversity of each person. Its actions are based on love, solidarity, and respect for mutual rights. The concept of rehabilitation can support the operationalisation of research and interdisciplinary care in a multidisciplinary team.