Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop a Participation Assessment measure for home visit Rehabilitation (PAR) for elderly.Methods: For the development of the PAR, the opinions of rehabilitation professionals were collected using the Delphi method according to the relevant literature, and the questionnaire items were organized. Subsequently, a survey of elderly home-visit rehabilitation users was conducted using the provisional version of the PAR. Content validity was verified by exploratory factor analysis, and the structure and items were selected. Correlations with the level of nursing care were investigated.Results: The relevant literature indicated 779 scale items for 34 scales, and the PAR provisional version had 27 items after three Delphi methods by 17 therapists. The survey was completed by 203 subjects (82.3±8.1 years) from 9 facilities. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a four-factor structure with maximum likelihood Promax rotation. Finally, a 19-item 76-point PAR was developed and negatively correlated (r = −0.492) with the level of nursing care.Conclusion: The PAR was developed as a validated participation rating scale for home visit rehabilitation users, including those with dementia and those who require severe nursing care, evaluated by healthcare professionals.

A questionnaire-based survey of board-certified rehabilitation physicians was conducted to identify issues in multidisciplinary interprofessional collaboration and to assess the abilities of board-certified rehabilitation physicians needed to develop assistive devices for individuals requiring long-term care. From the 366 responses, it was revealed that they consider “the ability to gain an insight into what patients need from assistive devices” and the “ability to communicate” as essential abilities needed to develop assistive devices. The respondents considered the ability to communicate and convey information important to overcome differences in thought-process between disciplines；the sharing of information, objectives, and knowledge as a requirement for teamwork；and collaboration, including with the patients, to be important. This approach to device development fits well with “design thinking” and “biodesign.” Unfortunately, more than 70％ of the respondents were unfamiliar with these concepts. Therefore, it is necessary to provide opportunities for rehabilitation physicians to learn innovative biodesign approaches.

A questionnaire-based survey of board-certified rehabilitation physicians was conducted to identify issues in multidisciplinary interprofessional collaboration and to assess the abilities of board-certified rehabilitation physicians needed to develop assistive devices for individuals requiring long-term care. From the 366 responses, it was revealed that they consider “the ability to gain an insight into what patients need from assistive devices” and the “ability to communicate” as essential abilities needed to develop assistive devices. The respondents considered the ability to communicate and convey information important to overcome differences in thought-process between disciplines；the sharing of information, objectives, and knowledge as a requirement for teamwork；and collaboration, including with the patients, to be important. This approach to device development fits well with “design thinking” and “biodesign.” Unfortunately, more than 70％ of the respondents were unfamiliar with these concepts. Therefore, it is necessary to provide opportunities for rehabilitation physicians to learn innovative biodesign approaches.