The German system of medical in-patient rehabilitation in children and adolescents

The prevalence of chronic health conditions in young people is constantly increasing. A very important question is in which setting (in-patient or out-patient) these patients should ideally be treated. In Germany, in-patient rehabilitation of children and adolescents with chronic health conditions has a long history. So far, however, no systematic data concerning structure, process or outcome quality have been assessed across facilities. Therefore, as a first step, a conjoint project of the statutory pension and health insurance institutes was initiated to assess and to describe the structure quality of in-patient medical rehabilitation clinics for children and adolescents in Germany. A questionnaire was filled out by the clinic directors which covered general information and the characteristics of structure quality, as well as structure-affiliated process characteristics of the clinics. The survey was planned as a cross-sectional study. A total of 177 clinic addresses were available. The return rate was 83.3%. Eventually, 79 clinics were included in the analysis. In sum, the results underline the heterogeneity of services in the field of child and adolescent rehabilitation. In conclusion, in-patient rehabilitation plays a major role for the treatment of children and adolescents with chronic health conditions in Germany. The results allow an analysis of the current clinic structures.