What is Restorative and Rehabilitative Care?
Rehabilitation is a comprehensive and purposeful process aimed at supporting an individual's independence, coping abilities, and participation in social life after an illness, trauma, or life situation that has altered their functional capacity.
By definition, rehabilitation is a set of activities and services that helps an individual achieve, maintain, or restore their physical, mental, social, and occupational capabilities to the fullest possible extent. Modern rehabilitation is based on a holistic and person-centered approach. It relies on the biopsychosocial model, which considers not only the health condition but also the individual’s goals, environment, and the role of the community. A team-based approach, involving successful cooperation between various specialists – a doctor, physiotherapist, psychologist, social worker, occupational therapist, and peer counselor – is crucial, as is the individual’s active participation in their own recovery process.
Rehabilitation is not merely about recovery; it also involves preventing the onset of special needs and empowering individuals to live their lives. It helps people lead fulfilling lives regardless of limitations stemming from their health condition, while simultaneously fostering social cohesion and human dignity.
The organization of rehabilitation in Estonia is complex, as it is fragmented across several separate systems: into the healthcare sector as restorative treatment under the administration of the Health Insurance Fund, into the social sector as social rehabilitation under the administration of the Social Insurance Board, and as occupational rehabilitation under the administration of the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Rehabilitation is one of the five core areas of healthcare, alongside treatment, prevention, health promotion, and palliative care.
Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN emphasize that rehabilitation is an integral part of healthcare and social welfare systems and an important human right. Rapid aging, the spread of chronic diseases, and the rise in mental health issues make the availability of rehabilitation increasingly important for ensuring societal sustainability and inclusion.
You can also read HNRK Board Chairman Kadri Englas’s opinion piece on rehabilitation, published in 2025, here: Rehabilitation is more than just recovery.