About the Authors
Bakyt Zhangabulova - Senior nurse of the laboratory of robotic rehabilitation, neurophysiology and audiology, NJSC "National Center for Children's Rehabilitation", Astana, Kazakhstan, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8000-3111
Raikhan Tleulinova - Director of Nursing, NJSC "National Center for Children's Rehabilitation", Astana, Kazakhstan, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1891-7955
Kamila Mukhitdinova - Specialist of the laboratory of robotic rehabilitation, neurophysiology and audiology, NJSC "National Center for Children's Rehabilitation", Astana, Kazakhstan, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3172-7275
Saltanat Bakytzhanova - Specialist of the laboratory of robotic rehabilitation, neurophysiology and audiology, NJSC "National Center for Children's Rehabilitation", Astana, Kazakhstan, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6713-030X
Abstract
This review article considers the role of nursing staff in rehabilitation through the close interaction between managerial responsibilities and practical clinical work. The analysis suggests that, in contemporary scientific literature, the nurse’s role is no longer reduced to basic care and observation; it also involves assessing functional status, coordinating rehabilitation interventions, preventing complications, educating patients and their families, and supporting recovery across different stages of care. The clinical, organizational, and communicative importance of nursing staff becomes particularly visible in neurological, cardiac, trauma-orthopedic, and geriatric rehabilitation, where continuous nursing involvement often gives the rehabilitation process its everyday stability. At the same time, nurses acquire an even more prominent role in home-based and remote care models, since patient-centered and evidence-based approaches become especially meaningful in these settings. Still, several important questions remain insufficiently elaborated, including the standardization of nursing functions, criteria for evaluating effectiveness, the degree of professional autonomy, and the balance between managerial and practical duties. For this reason, nursing staff should be understood not as an auxiliary part of rehabilitation, but as a system-forming element that significantly shapes its continuity, coherence, and overall effectiveness.
Keyword
Rehabilitation, nursing staff, nurse’s role, functional recovery, care coordination, patient-centered approach, evidence-based nursing, home rehabilitation, telerehabilitation, multidisciplinary team.
References
- World Health Organization. (2022). Strengthening rehabilitation in health systems. Geneva: WHO. p.7. https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB152/B152_8-en.pdf (date of access: 30.03.2026).
- World Health Organization. (2025). Nursing workforce grows, but inequities threaten global health goals. https://www.who.int/news/item/12-05-2025-nursing-workforce-grows--but-inequities-threaten-global-health-goals (date of access: 30.03.2026).
- Lorenz, V., Rodrigues, R., & Dixe, M. dos A. C. R. (2024). The role of nurses in rehabilitation in primary health care for ageing populations: A secondary analysis from a scoping review. SAGE Open Nursing, 10, 23779608241271677. https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608241271677
- Tanlaka, E. F., Rhoda, A., & Smith, M. (2023). The role and contributions of nurses in stroke rehabilitation units: An integrative review. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 45(8), 764–776. https://doi.org/10.1177/01939459231178495
- Guitar, N. A., McMillan, D., Hall, M., Kangas, M., Sims-Gould, J., & McGilton, K. S. (2023). The role of nurses in inpatient geriatric rehabilitation units: A scoping review. Nursing Open, 10(10), 6708–6723. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1951
- Stucki, G., Bickenbach, J., Gutenbrunner, C., & Melvin, J. (2018). Rehabilitation: The health strategy of the 21st century. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 50(4), 309–316. https://doi.org/10.2340/16501977-2200
- Rauch, A., Cieza, A., & Stucki, G. (2008). How to apply the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) for rehabilitation management in clinical practice. European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 44(3), 329–342. DOI: not assigned; PMID: 18762742; PII: R33Y2008N03A0329. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18762742/
- Meyer, T., Gutenbrunner, C., Bickenbach, J., Cieza, A., Melvin, J., & Stucki, G. (2011). Towards a conceptual description of rehabilitation as a health strategy. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 43(9), 765–769. https://doi.org/10.2340/16501977-0865
- Franz, S., Muser, J., Thielhorn, U., Wallesch, C.-W., & Behrens, J. (2020). Inter-professional communication and interaction in the neurological rehabilitation team: A literature review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 42(11), 1607–1615. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2018.1528634
- Clarke, D. J. (2014). Nursing practice in stroke rehabilitation: Systematic review and meta-ethnography. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 23(9–10), 1201–1226. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12334
- Guitar, N. A., McMillan, D., Hall, M., Kangas, M., Sims-Gould, J., & McGilton, K. S. (2023). The role of nurses in inpatient geriatric rehabilitation units: A scoping review. Nursing Open, 10(10), 6708–6723. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1951
- Tanlaka, E. F., Rhoda, A., & Smith, M. (2023). The role and contributions of nurses in stroke rehabilitation units: An integrative review. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 45(8), 764–776. https://doi.org/10.1177/01939459231178495
- Camicia, M., Lutz, B., Summers, D., Klassman, L., & Vaughn, S. (2021). Nursing’s role in successful stroke care transitions across the continuum: From acute care into the community. Stroke, 52(12), e794–e805. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.121.033938
- Miranda, J. M. de A., Borges, M. M. F., Costa, J. M. da, & Rocha, N. A. C. F. (2023). Early mobilization in acute stroke phase: A systematic review. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 81(2), 157–168. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0041-1741450
- Wong, A. K. C., Yu, D. S. F., Chow, S. K. Y., Wong, E. M. L., Chan, C. W. H., Lee, P. H., & Wong, F. K. Y. (2025). The effectiveness of nurse-led telecare consultations among patients who have experienced a stroke: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27, e74149. https://doi.org/10.2196/74149
- Lin, S. H. M., Neubeck, L., & Gallagher, R. (2017). Educational preparation, roles, and competencies to guide career development for cardiac rehabilitation nurses: A scoping review. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 48(6), 244–259. https://doi.org/10.3928/00220124-20170517-05
- Mares, M. A., McNair, N. D., & Gill, F. J. (2018). Effectiveness of nurse-led cardiac rehabilitation programs following coronary artery bypass graft surgery: A systematic review. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 16(12), 2304–2329. https://doi.org/10.11124/JBISRIR-2017-003314
- Zhao, K., Wang, T., Li, Y., & Li, H. (2024). Effects of nurse-led interventions on comprehensive rehabilitation of atrial fibrillation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 30(1), 36–43. DOI: not assigned; PMID: 37820673; PII: AT9096. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37820673/
- Jendrzejczak, A., Klukow, J., Czerwik-Marcinkowska, J., Styk, W., & Zmorzynski, S. (2025). Nursing care across the clinical continuum of TAVI: A systematic review of multidisciplinary roles. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(13), 4535. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14134535
- Rocha, P., Baixinho, C. L., Marques, A., & Henriques, M. A. (2024). Safety-promoting interventions for the older person with hip fracture on returning home: A systematic review. International Journal of Orthopaedic and Trauma Nursing, 52, 101063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijotn.2023.101063
- Zhao, L., Zhao, X., Dong, B., & Li, X. (2024). Effectiveness of home-based exercise for functional rehabilitation in older adults after hip fracture surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLOS ONE, 19(12), e0315707. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315707
- Alves, E., Gonçalves, A., Fernandes, C. S. N., Vilarinho, R., Rocha, A. C. dos S., & Ferreira, P. L. (2024). Health-related outcomes of structured home-based rehabilitation programs among older adults: A systematic literature review. Heliyon, 10(14), e35351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35351
- Saucedo-Pahua, G., Caetano, G. M., Jiménez-González, M. de J., & Fhon, J. R. S. (2024). Home-based educational interventions for family caregivers of older adults after stroke: A scoping review. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 58, e20230339. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-220X-REEUSP-2023-0339en
- Dawson, R., Oliveira, J. S., Kwok, W. S., Bratland, M., Rajendran, I. M., Srinivasan, A., Chu, C. Y., Pinheiro, M. B., Hassett, L., & Sherrington, C. (2024). Exercise interventions delivered through telehealth to improve physical functioning for older adults with frailty, cognitive, or mobility disability: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Telemedicine and e-Health, 30(4), 940–950. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2023.0177
- Zhang, J., Luo, J., Chen, Y., Guo, L., Wu, J., Li, L., Liang, Y., Chen, M., & Xiong, C. (2024). Evidence-based rehabilitation medicine: Definition, foundation, practice and development. European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 60(1), 42–54. https://doi.org/10.23736/S1973-9087.24.08291-7
- Steensgaard, R., Kolbæk, R., & Angel, S. (2024). Striving to establish patient participation in rehabilitation: The challenges experienced by nursing staff when changing practice to include the patient’s perspective. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 5, 1504984. https://doi.org/10.3389/fresc.2024.1504984


