Abstract

Objectives: In this review, we examine the current landscape of cancer rehabilitation in Qatar, evaluate its alignment with the national cancer strategies, and highlight key opportunities to advance rehabilitation as a core component of comprehensive cancer care.

Materials and methods: This narrative review synthesized epidemiological data, national cancer policy documents, and international evidence on cancer rehabilitation models, frameworks, outcomes, and implementation strategies, with specific contextualization to Qatar. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library from 2000 to March 2026, supplemented by the World Health Organization and Qatar Ministry of Public Health repositories.

Results: There is strong evidence supporting the beneficial effects of rehabilitation across all cancer phases. Despite the availability of various cancer strategies in Qatar, the integration of rehabilitation remains limited and shows persistent gaps in implementation despite policy intent. The gaps exist in prehabilitation/early rehabilitation, dedicated cancer rehabilitation services, structured survivorship programs, community based rehabilitation, and palliative rehabilitation. Functional outcomes and patient reported measures are not routinely captured, restricting the system's ability to evaluate rehabilitation impact or plan services effectively. Workforce capacity, digital health integration, and cross sector coordination require significant strengthening to meet rising rehabilitation demand.

Conclusion: Qatar is well-positioned to transition from an acute focused oncology model to a function focused, longitudinal survivorship model that embeds rehabilitation across the care continuum. Advancing this agenda requires institutionalizing rehabilitation within national cancer pathways, expanding workforce capabilities, integrating functional outcomes into routine care, and enhancing community and palliative rehabilitation services.

Citation: Amatya B, Kuwari FA, Hanif S, Kariyathankavil I, Khan F. Advancing cancer rehabilitation in Qatar: A call to action. Arch ISPRM 2026;1(2):138-153. https://doi.org/10.5606/ archisprm.2026.57.

B.A.: Conceptualization, literature review, data extraction, manuscript writing, content analysis; F.A.K.: Manuscript writing, draft review, and editing; S.H.: Draft review, and editing; I.K.: Literature search and draft review and editing; F.K.: Draft review and editing. All authors contributed to reviewing the article critically for important intellectual content and approved the final draft of the manuscript.

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Data Availability
No datasets were generated or analyzed in this study; as such, data availability is not applicable.

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not‑for‑profit sectors.

AI Disclosure
The authors declare that artificial intelligence (AI) tools were not used, or were used solely for language editing, and had no role in data analysis, interpretation, or the formulation of conclusions. All scientific content, data interpretation, and conclusions are the sole responsibility of the authors. The authors further confirm that AI tools were not used to generate, fabricate, or ‘hallucinate’ references, and that all references have been carefully verified for accuracy.