Abstract
[Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the definition of social participation and its evaluation indices in the context of rehabilitation. [Subjects and Methods] A qualitative systematic literature review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of studies that reported the definition of and evaluated social participation. The search terms chosen were “rehabilitation”, “social participation,” and related words. To interpret and characterize the content of social participation in each study, similar definitions and evaluation indices were integrated using a text analysis. [Results] In previous studies, “activities in terms of work, household, and leisure” and “have a role at work or in the family” have been defined as social participation. The evaluation indices were different depending on the definitions of social participation. [Conclusion] The present study showed that the definitions of social participation vary, and that it is necessary to choose evaluation indices according to these definitions.
