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Seiha S.1, Aicha B.1
1International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), Physical Rehabilitation Program, Phnom Pehn, Cambodia
Background: Cambodia has seen considerable socio-economic progress and is undergoing major institutional health reforms, although there are growing concerns due to new health challenges, notably the increase of people with non-communicable diseases (WHO 2011). In addition, Cambodia has one of the highest rates of road traffic injuries in Southeast Asia, and it replicates changing life styles coupled with increasing life expectancy (WHO in 2015, life expectancy in Cambodia). Consequently, persons in need of physiotherapy (PT) is growing. However, the current PT workforce and a very low student's enrollment are not adequate for the Cambodian society which has only 446 qualified physiotherapists in 2015 for a population of 15 million (World bank Cambodia 2015). In addition, the services delivery provided by the new PT workforce are not meeting the quality assurance standards (QAS). Systemic challenges such as low governmental salaries and lack of recognition of the PT role in the health sector impact the profession negatively. In order to upgrade the PT skills, the Cambodian PT association (CPTA) and the Technical School Medical Care (TSMC) are implementing a bridging program leading to a Bachelor degree with the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) support. Although, a widening mismatch between educational programs might prevent harmonization of the professional qualifications. Within this scope, an evaluation of the PT associated degree program was undertaken by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in cooperation with the CPTA.
Purpose: The objective was to appraise the quality of the PT entry level at the TSMC and to provide key recommendations on how to comply with the QAS. Thus, an evaluation of the academic program of the PT associated degree and the professional challenges met by the newly qualified physiotherapists was conducted in March 2016.
Methods: The evaluation was based on a qualitative approach including interviews and desk reviews. Initial conclusions were discussed in focus groups and face-to-face interviews with seventy key informants.
The information was analysis in an inductive way based on thematic analysis.
Results: Results show that learning outcomes related to the professional skills, reflective practice, clinical decision-making and evidence-based practice of the students are limited. The qualifications of the academic staff is not sufficient to develop students critical thinking skills and the program delivery is based on teacher rather than student-centered approach.
In addition, a lack of clinical examination with patients unable the students to develop their practical skills.
Conclusion(s): Two priorities emerged from the thematic results; QAS and students satisfaction require to convert the current degree curriculum to a competency-based curriculum framework reflecting the communitys needs. The academic program should insure that the professionals meet the QAS by integrating them at the national level and to build the essential competencies for a safe and effective practice.
Implications: In term of improving the PT education, we should focus on developing the QAS by building capacity of effective teaching and revising the curriculum of associated degree of PT.
Funding acknowledgements: ICRC
Topic: Education
Ethics approval: We do not have ethical committee, but we got approval from the school of Physiotherapy where we did evaluation.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
