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Nicholson A1, Mishra S2
1WHO, Disability and Rehabilitation, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 2WHO, Disability and Rehabilitation, Technical Officer, Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Background: In 2010, Tajikistan faced an outbreak of Polio that left hundreds of people with physical impairments with no rehabilitation system in place for their treatment. To address this need, the Tajikistan Ministry of Health and Social Protection (MOHSP) sought technical assistance from the World Health Organization (WHO) to conduct a gap analysis on the state of rehabilitation in the country. Results revealed that rehabilitation services were needed not only for individuals with polio, but others requiring rehabilitation services due to trauma, noncommunicable disease, congenital, neurological and other conditions. (1) WHO is providing technical assistance to MOH in developing and implementing a comprehensive national rehabilitation policy, a multisectoral system and accompanying services. This initiative includes the first-time establishment of the profession of physical therapy in Tajikistan, in accordance to international standards and its integration into the health care system.
Purpose: To create, improve and scale-up physical therapy services, with the goal to provide access to good quality rehabilitation within the healthcare system of Tajikistan.
Methods: To achieve the purpose, WHO is using the six building blocks of health systems, (service delivery, work force, information systems, medical product and technologies, systems financing and leadership/governance) to create and integrate physical therapy services into the existing healthcare system. (2) The current actions are framed within these building blocks to ensure a comprehensive impact on healthcare access and outcomes in physical therapy.
Results: The current actions involve: development of training of trainer's program to improve quality of care for practicing rehabilitation personnel (service delivery); the creation of a bachelors program in physical therapy to ensure a future workforce up to international standards, as well as one student completing BSc (PT) in India (workforce); a disability survey to update information about number/needs of persons with disabilities so that physical therapy can meet their requirements (information systems); the establishment of the first national assistive device priority list in Tajikistan (medical product and technologies); financial mobilization through leveraging of different development partners and policy dialogue with the Tajikistan Ministry of Finance to allocate more resources (systems financing); the drafting and adoption of the National Program on Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (2017-2020) (leadership/governance).
Conclusion(s): This is a snapshot of the comprehensive actions that are underway in Tajikistan and are expected to last another 2-3 years for full implementation. Using the building blocks, we can establish and strengthen the profession of physical therapy in low-resource settings. Its success depends on long term commitments and partnerships between the physical therapy profession, MOH, WHO, disabled persons organizations (DPO's) and other stakeholders.
Implications: Tajikistan can be an international example for how to create, promote and improve access to good quality physical therapy in other low resource settings. With the rise in chronic disabilities and noncommunicable diseases on a global health scale, (3) the time is now to focus on ways to establish the profession of physical therapy to reach those in need of its services and provide universal health care for all.
Keywords: physical therapy, public health
Funding acknowledgements: USAID
Purpose: To create, improve and scale-up physical therapy services, with the goal to provide access to good quality rehabilitation within the healthcare system of Tajikistan.
Methods: To achieve the purpose, WHO is using the six building blocks of health systems, (service delivery, work force, information systems, medical product and technologies, systems financing and leadership/governance) to create and integrate physical therapy services into the existing healthcare system. (2) The current actions are framed within these building blocks to ensure a comprehensive impact on healthcare access and outcomes in physical therapy.
Results: The current actions involve: development of training of trainer's program to improve quality of care for practicing rehabilitation personnel (service delivery); the creation of a bachelors program in physical therapy to ensure a future workforce up to international standards, as well as one student completing BSc (PT) in India (workforce); a disability survey to update information about number/needs of persons with disabilities so that physical therapy can meet their requirements (information systems); the establishment of the first national assistive device priority list in Tajikistan (medical product and technologies); financial mobilization through leveraging of different development partners and policy dialogue with the Tajikistan Ministry of Finance to allocate more resources (systems financing); the drafting and adoption of the National Program on Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (2017-2020) (leadership/governance).
Conclusion(s): This is a snapshot of the comprehensive actions that are underway in Tajikistan and are expected to last another 2-3 years for full implementation. Using the building blocks, we can establish and strengthen the profession of physical therapy in low-resource settings. Its success depends on long term commitments and partnerships between the physical therapy profession, MOH, WHO, disabled persons organizations (DPO's) and other stakeholders.
Implications: Tajikistan can be an international example for how to create, promote and improve access to good quality physical therapy in other low resource settings. With the rise in chronic disabilities and noncommunicable diseases on a global health scale, (3) the time is now to focus on ways to establish the profession of physical therapy to reach those in need of its services and provide universal health care for all.
Keywords: physical therapy, public health
Funding acknowledgements: USAID
Topic: Service delivery/emerging roles
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: WHO
Ethics committee: WHO
Ethics number: WHO
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
