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This article discusses the importance of health policy and systems research (HPSR) in improving rehabilitation services in health systems. It highlights the global need for rehabilitation services and the high unmet need, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The article argues that HPSR can provide the evidence needed to prioritize rehabilitation, evaluate outcomes, and strengthen health systems. It also mentions the establishment of the World Rehabilitation Alliance (WRA) and its research workstream, which aims to advocate for the use of HPSR evidence for rehabilitation. The authors express their support for the WRA's mission and commit to promoting HPSR for rehabilitation in their respective academic journals. The document provides a list of authors and publications related to rehabilitation, as well as information about funding, conflicts of interest, and the publisher's note. It references various articles and reports on rehabilitation, including the definition of rehabilitation, global estimates of the need for rehabilitation, and the global report on health equity for persons with disabilities. It also mentions the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and the World Health Organization's efforts to prioritize rehabilitation in health systems. The document concludes with information about the World Rehabilitation Alliance and the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 12-item survey (WHODAS-12) is a questionnaire developed by the WHO to measure functioning across health conditions, cultures, and settings. WHODAS-12 consists of a subset of the 36 items of WHODAS-2.0 36-item questionnaire. Little is known about the minimal important difference (MID) of WHODAS-12 in persons with chronic low back pain (LBP), which would be useful to determine whether rehabilitation improves functioning to an extent that is meaningful for people experiencing the condition. Our objective was to estimate an anchor-based MID for WHODAS-12 questionnaire in persons with chronic LBP. Methods: We analyzed data from two cohort studies (identified in our previous systematic review) conducted in Europe that measured functioning using the WHODAS-36 in adults with chronic LBP. Eligible participants were adults with chronic LBP with scores on another measure as an anchor to indicate participants with small but important changes in functioning over time [Short-form-36 Physical Functioning (SF36-PF) or Oswestry Disability Index (ODI)] at baseline and follow-up (study 1: 3-months post-treatment; study 2: 1-month post-discharge from hospital). WHODAS-12 scores were constructed as sums of the 12 items (scored 0–4), with possible scores ranging from 0 to 48. We calculated the mean WHODAS-12 score in participants who achieved a small but meaningful improvement on SF36-PF or ODI at follow-up. A meaningful improvement was an MID of 4–16 on ODI or 5–16 on SF36-PF. Results: Of 70 eligible participants in study 1 (mean age = 54.1 years, SD = 14.7; 69% female), 18 achieved a small meaningful improvement based on SF-36 PF. Corresponding mean WHODAS-12 change score was − 3.22/48 (95% CI -4.79 to -1.64). Of 89 eligible participants in study 2 (mean age = 65.5 years, SD = 11.5; 61% female), 50 achieved a small meaningful improvement based on ODI. Corresponding mean WHODAS-12 change score was − 5.99/48 (95% CI − 7.20 to -4.79). Conclusions: Using an anchor-based approach, the MID of WHODAS-12 is estimated at -3.22 (95% CI -4.79 to -1.64) or -5.99 (95% CI − 7.20 to -4.79) in adults with chronic LBP. These MID values inform the utility of WHODAS-12 in measuring functioning to determine whether rehabilitation or other health services achieve a minimal difference that is meaningful to patients with chronic LBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]