Aliaga V1, Besoaín-Saldaña A1, Manríquez M1, Rebolledo J1, Huepe G2
1Universidad de Chile, Departamento de Kinesiología, Santiago, Chile, 2Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Departamento de Bioética y Humanidades Médicas, Santiago, Chile
Background: Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) is a worldwide strategy aimed to assure equal opportunities and social inclusion of people with disabilities. Following the ratification of United Nation Convention about rights of people with disabilities, CBR has been positioned as a relevant strategy to contribute to remark people with disabilities as subjects with rights and duties. In Chile, public health system has implemented this strategy since 15 year ago, confronting care models and understandings of disability. Physical therapists have been positioned as a key actor in this strategy. However, limited literature related to evaluation of CBR has been performed. Description of experiences and perceptions are limited and do not recognize the perspectives of the rehabilitation professional team, especially the physical therapists point of view.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe experiences and perceptions about the implementation of CBR interventions of the rehabilitation professional team, especially physical therapists, with the purpose of contributing to identify barriers and strengths to the implementation of CBR strategy in Chile in order to improve it.
Methods: Qualitative, explotarory, descriptive study was performed. 4 focus group with professionals of the rehabilitation team working in communitary centers of rehabilitation in the Metropolitan area of Chile were conducted. Data analysis was done through grounded theory. Triangulation of researchers and participants were used in order to improve the quality and credibility of results.
Results: The rehabilitation professional team was conformed by physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists in the most of the communitary centers of rehabilitation. In addition, in some of these centers including psychologists and physical education teachers.
The rehabilitation team professionals refers perform two types of rehabilitation activities: individual activities with the purpose of improving functionality, usually performing by physical therapists, and grupal activities with the purpose of improving social cohesion, usually performing by occupational therapists and speech therapists.
For professionals, CBR strategy provide them an interdisciplinary space for achieving integral rehabilitation, however, there are tension and conflicts between the biomedical and biopsicosocial model of health care. Nonetheless, they requires improvements in physical spaces and improvements in intersectoral and communitary network. The high number of people with disability with needs of care and the misunderstanding of the strategy, do the implementation of the program very complex and insufficient for increased impact of CBR in social inclusion of people with disability.
Conclusion(s): For every actor included in the rehabilitation process, causes of disability are understood from social model, meanwhile consequences and solutions are understood from individual model limiting impact of CBR strategy in social inclusion. Is necessary improve the material conditions of the communitatry centers of rehabilitation and continuing the process of change of the models in health care, promoting the understanding of the concept and importance of the biopsicosocial model in rehabilitation strategies and interventions.
Implications: CBR in primary health care is identified as a positive and relevant strategy ofr social inclusion. It is necessary to improve intersectoral network and inclusion of non-health actors for promote social inclusion of people with disability.
Keywords: Community Based Rehabilitation, Disability, Rehabilitation
Funding acknowledgements: This study was funded by the National Commission of Science and Technology (CONICYT), Chile
Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe experiences and perceptions about the implementation of CBR interventions of the rehabilitation professional team, especially physical therapists, with the purpose of contributing to identify barriers and strengths to the implementation of CBR strategy in Chile in order to improve it.
Methods: Qualitative, explotarory, descriptive study was performed. 4 focus group with professionals of the rehabilitation team working in communitary centers of rehabilitation in the Metropolitan area of Chile were conducted. Data analysis was done through grounded theory. Triangulation of researchers and participants were used in order to improve the quality and credibility of results.
Results: The rehabilitation professional team was conformed by physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists in the most of the communitary centers of rehabilitation. In addition, in some of these centers including psychologists and physical education teachers.
The rehabilitation team professionals refers perform two types of rehabilitation activities: individual activities with the purpose of improving functionality, usually performing by physical therapists, and grupal activities with the purpose of improving social cohesion, usually performing by occupational therapists and speech therapists.
For professionals, CBR strategy provide them an interdisciplinary space for achieving integral rehabilitation, however, there are tension and conflicts between the biomedical and biopsicosocial model of health care. Nonetheless, they requires improvements in physical spaces and improvements in intersectoral and communitary network. The high number of people with disability with needs of care and the misunderstanding of the strategy, do the implementation of the program very complex and insufficient for increased impact of CBR in social inclusion of people with disability.
Conclusion(s): For every actor included in the rehabilitation process, causes of disability are understood from social model, meanwhile consequences and solutions are understood from individual model limiting impact of CBR strategy in social inclusion. Is necessary improve the material conditions of the communitatry centers of rehabilitation and continuing the process of change of the models in health care, promoting the understanding of the concept and importance of the biopsicosocial model in rehabilitation strategies and interventions.
Implications: CBR in primary health care is identified as a positive and relevant strategy ofr social inclusion. It is necessary to improve intersectoral network and inclusion of non-health actors for promote social inclusion of people with disability.
Keywords: Community Based Rehabilitation, Disability, Rehabilitation
Funding acknowledgements: This study was funded by the National Commission of Science and Technology (CONICYT), Chile
Topic: Disability & rehabilitation; Primary health care
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile
Ethics committee: Comité de Etica de la Investigación con Seres Humanos
Ethics number: 169-2015
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
