Congratulations to Professor Áine Carroll, Dr George Chao-Chi Hong, Lauren Christophers, Zsofia Torok, Clare Hudson, Tom Rafter and Áine Trayer on their recently published scoping review on Learning Health Systems and learning organisations in post-acute rehabilitation care.
This work explores how learning health systems can enhance rehabilitation services through continuous knowledge mobilisation, innovation, and improvement.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to assess the prevalence of literature applying LHS and learning organisation (LO) concepts to rehabilitation, gather definitions and core features, and document their application and resultant organisational changes.
Materials and Methods
We searched five electronic databases and included peer-reviewed qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies, reviews, and grey literature in English. Full texts were screened, resulting in 27 included papers.
Results
Most of the included papers discussed the concept of LHS, emphasising key aspects like infrastructure and learning mechanisms. However, only a minority described practical implementation (n = 4) or assessed the effects of applying LHS frameworks within rehabilitation settings (n = 1).
Conclusions
This scoping review highlights the limited empirical focus on implementing and operationalising LHS frameworks in rehabilitation services. Based on the available literature, we offer recommendations for rehabilitation services transitioning to a LHS. Our findings emphasise the need for increased dissemination of knowledge and research on the implementation and evaluation of rehabilitation-focused LHS.
Read the full paper here.