Trends in the Rehabilitation Therapist Workforce in Underserved Areas: 1980‐2000

Wilson, Richard D.; Lewis, Steven; Murray, Patrick

doi:10.1111/j.1748-0361.2009.00195.x

Cited by 56 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…This finding is important because therapy staff can be overwhelmed by the size of their workload in this setting and either be discouraged to continue working in rural settings or suffer burnout. Shortage of therapy staff working in rural areas is a common problem worldwide and corresponds with an Australian study that reported that very few rehabilitation therapists were employed in rural areas to meet the demands of the population that they served 32. Considering the increased demand for rehabilitation services in rural settings owing to the increased incidence of disabilities, these immense staff shortages should be seriously considered and addressed by the National Department of Health.…”

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Roles and challenges of the multidisciplinary team involved in prosthetic rehabilitation, in a rural district in South Africa

Ennion¹,

Rhoda²

2016

JMDH

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BackgroundMajor lower limb amputations result in a significant sense of loss, psychological stress, and decrease in function and overall quality of life for the amputee. The holistic, patient-centered prosthetic rehabilitation of an amputee requires input from a team of dedicated health professionals from different disciplines commonly referred to as a multidisciplinary team (MDT). MDT rehabilitation is considered crucial in the reintegration of the amputee into the community, as well as for providing psychological support after limb loss. Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary rehabilitation has been proven to be more successful than therapy provided by individual therapists in a number of different populations, regardless of the population studied. However, in most developing countries, there is a significant lack of multidisciplinary rehabilitation.AimTo explore the roles and challenges of the members of the MDT involved in trans-tibial amputation rehabilitation in a rural community in South Africa (SA).DesignAn explorative sequential qualitative descriptive study.SettingA rural district in the KwaZulu Natal province in SA.ParticipantsNine prosthetic users, three surgeons, three traditional healers, 17 therapists, four prosthetists, and four community health workers.Instruments for data collectionSemistructured interviews and focus group discussions.ResultsThe roles of the members of the MDT were clarified, and various members of the MDT highlighted specific challenges relating to their experiences and roles in the rehabilitation team. Lack of interdisciplinary rehabilitation and communication among team members, as well as lack of resources, and patient education negatively impact the rehabilitation of trans-tibial amputees.ConclusionAiming to address the limited resources available to health care professionals, as well as improved communication and interdisciplinary rehabilitation, could potentially improve the overall rehabilitation of persons with a lower limb amputation in the rural setting.

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Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Roles and challenges of the multidisciplinary team involved in prosthetic rehabilitation, in a rural district in South Africa

Ennion¹,

Rhoda²

2016

JMDH

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“…First, in lower income countries, where the vast majority of people with disabilities live [1, 22, 23], rehabilitation providers are unavailable or in very small numbers [1, 24, 25]. Second, existing rehabilitation services and workers concentrate in urban locations and are not accessible to numerous people with disabilities living in rural settings [22, 26, 27]. Third, many people have no access to needed rehabilitation due lack of universal health coverage for even basic rehabilitation [1, 28–30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human resources for health (and rehabilitation): Six Rehab-Workforce Challenges for the century

et al. 2017

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BackgroundPeople with disabilities face challenges accessing basic rehabilitation health care. In 2006, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) outlined the global necessity to meet the rehabilitation needs of people with disabilities, but this goal is often challenged by the undersupply and inequitable distribution of rehabilitation workers. While the aggregate study and monitoring of the physical rehabilitation workforce has been mostly ignored by researchers or policy-makers, this paper aims to present the ‘challenges and opportunities’ for guiding further long-term research and policies on developing the relatively neglected, highly heterogeneous physical rehabilitation workforce.MethodsThe challenges were identified through a two-phased investigation. Phase 1: critical review of the rehabilitation workforce literature, organized by the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality (AAAQ) framework. Phase 2: integrate reviewed data into a SWOT framework to identify the strengths and opportunities to be maximized and the weaknesses and threats to be overcome.ResultsThe critical review and SWOT analysis have identified the following global situation: (i) needs-based shortages and lack of access to rehabilitation workers, particularly in lower income countries and in rural/remote areas; (ii) deficiencies in the data sources and monitoring structures; and (iii) few exemplary innovations, of both national and international scope, that may help reduce supply-side shortages in underserved areas.DiscussionBased on the results, we have prioritized the following ‘Six Rehab-Workforce Challenges’: (1) monitoring supply requirements: accounting for rehabilitation needs and demand; (2) supply data sources: the need for structural improvements; (3) ensuring the study of a whole rehabilitation workforce (i.e. not focused on single professions), including across service levels; (4) staffing underserved locations: the rising of education, attractiveness and tele-service; (5) adapt policy options to different contexts (e.g. rural vs urban), even within a country; and (6) develop international solutions, within an interdependent world.ConclusionsConcrete examples of feasible local, global and research action toward meeting the Six Rehab-Workforce Challenges are provided. Altogether, these may help advance a policy and research agenda for ensuring that an adequate rehabilitation workforce can meet the current and future rehabilitation health needs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12960-017-0182-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…AHPs include a broad group of university educated professionals including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, and psychologists. Their supply is critical to health, quality of life, and community participation, particularly for those with significant disability including cognitive, neurological, and physical impairments that result in difficulty performing activities of daily living including communication (Wilson, Lewis, & Murray, 2009). Compared to their medical counterparts, larger numbers of AHPs are leaving the health workforce by moving to other positions both within and outside allied health, reducing their participation by working part-time or casual, or retiring (Keane, Lincoln, & Smith, 2012;Leach, Segal, & May, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recruitment and retention of allied health professionals in the disability sector in rural and remote New South Wales, Australia

Lincoln

Gallego

Dew

et al. 2013

Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability

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Background People with disability living in rural areas are vulnerable to the loss of access to allied health services due to a critical shortage of allied health professionals (AHPs). This study aimed to investigate recruitment and retention issues of importance to AHPs providing services to people with disability in rural New South Wales, Australia. Method Focus groups and semistructured interviews were conducted with 97 purposively sampled service providers in the disability sector. Interviews and focus groups were digitally recorded and transcribed. A modified grounded theory approach using thematic analysis and constant comparison was used to analyse the data. Results Three major themes relating to recruitment and retention were identified: (a) flexible recruitment, (b) retention strategies that work, and (c) challenges to retention. Conclusions AHPs in the disability sector identified some of the same issues influencing recruitment and retention as AHPs in the health, education, and private sectors. Several unique issues were also identified that will assist policymakers to improve recruitment and retention of AHPs employed in the disability sector in rural areas.

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Trends in the Rehabilitation Therapist Workforce in Underserved Areas: 1980‐2000

Cited by 56 publications

References 10 publications

Roles and challenges of the multidisciplinary team involved in prosthetic rehabilitation, in a rural district in South Africa

Roles and challenges of the multidisciplinary team involved in prosthetic rehabilitation, in a rural district in South Africa

Human resources for health (and rehabilitation): Six Rehab-Workforce Challenges for the century

Recruitment and retention of allied health professionals in the disability sector in rural and remote New South Wales, Australia

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