Rehabilitation in the Intensive Care Unit: Preparing Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Professionals to Support Biopsychosocial Well-Being

14/11/2026

AI Summary

Survivors of critical illness increasingly experience persistent physical, cognitive and mental health sequelae that necessitate early, coordinated rehabilitation.
ICU care has profound, long lasting biopsychosocial impacts demanding interdisciplinary, survival focused approaches.
WHO ICF offers a person centred, holistic framework to guide physical medicine and rehabilitation professionals within a transdiagnostic interdisciplinary recovery model.

TL;DR (AI Generated)

The intensive care unit involves interdisciplinary survival-focused care, and its biopsychosocial impact is profound and long-lasting.

In this article, we have highlighted the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning as a person-centered, holistic, and contextually grounded framework for early rehabilitation specifically for critical care survivorship.

The goal of this article is to elucidate the key role of physical medicine and rehabilitation professionals in enhancing the recovery trajectory of critical illness survivors within a transdiagnostic, interdisciplinary framework.

Basic summary

Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2027 Feb;38(1):57-78. doi: 10.1016/j.pmr.2026.08.004. Epub 2026 Oct 9.

ABSTRACT

With medical advances, more critically ill patients survive and often experience new or worsening physical, cognitive, and/or mental health sequelae. The intensive care unit involves interdisciplinary survival-focused care, and its biopsychosocial impact is profound and long-lasting. In this article, we have highlighted the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning as a person-centered, holistic, and contextually grounded framework for early rehabilitation specifically for critical care survivorship. The goal of this article is to elucidate the key role of physical medicine and rehabilitation professionals in enhancing the recovery trajectory of critical illness survivors within a transdiagnostic, interdisciplinary framework.

PMID:43025921 | DOI:10.1016/j.pmr.2026.08.004

Document this CPD