Functioning Problems Associated with Health Conditions with Greatest Disease Burden in South Africa: A Scoping Review

Bridging the chasm between patients' needs and current rehabilitation care: perceptions of adults presenting for primary care in the Eastern Cape

BACKGROUND

The need for rehabilitation in low-to-middle income countries (LMICs) is rapidly increasing as more people are living longer with chronic diseases. Primary health care (PHC) is ideally placed to provide the spectrum of care required to meet most of the complex and evolving population's health needs locally. This study aimed to describe the patient journeys of adults attending primary care in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa to understand the factors that affected their access to primary care rehabilitation services (or the lack thereof) and obtain suggestions on how rehabilitation may be enhanced at primary care.

METHODS

A maximum variation sampling approach was used to purposefully select persons with varied chronic health conditions and demographic characteristics to gain diverse perspectives regarding their rehabilitation needs and ways in which the current rehabilitation services at primary care may be enhanced. Data were collected via face-to-face semi-structured interviews between March and June 2022 which were electronically recorded. Inductive thematic analysis of transcribed data was done and coded in Atlas.ti.22®.

RESULTS

Twenty-five adult patients participated in the study. The patients had different experiences at their local PHC facilities that affected their access to rehabilitation at primary care. The study found that most patients were not able to access rehabilitation at primary care. There were several personal and contextual factors that resulted in the patients having a low perceived need to receive rehabilitation that potentially lowered patients' demand for and utilization of rehabilitation at primary care. Patients suggested increasing rehabilitation workforce at primary care, improving availability of assistive devices, increasing their knowledge regarding rehabilitation, and facilitating socio-economic integration into their communities.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients attending primary care are not guaranteed access to rehabilitation by virtue of having entered the PHC system. It is important to consider the patient perspectives regarding their health needs and suggestions for enhancing care.

Organizational readiness and rehabilitation professionals' views on integrating telerehabilitation into service delivery and students' clinical training: A qualitative study

Objective

To assess the readiness of healthcare institutions that serve as clinical platforms for Stellenbosch University' rehabilitation students, and to explore the opinions of rehabilitation professionals regarding the integration of telerehabilitation (TR) into service delivery and students clinical training.

Methods

This study employed a qualitative research design and involved the participation of fourteen rehabilitation managers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using both face-to-face and online platforms. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the collected data.

Results

The readiness for implementing TR services varies across different dimensions. Facilities faced challenges related to funding for TR equipment and the absence of policies and guidelines, indicating a lack of financial and governance readiness. Rehabilitation professionals demonstrated high attitudinal readiness but low technical readiness due to a lack of knowledge and skills. Rehabilitation students particularly lacked practical experience, confidence, clinical reasoning and decision-making skills further contributing to low technical readiness.

Conclusion

Health care institutions are generally not ready for a successful implementation of TR. To improve the readiness, senior management should actively participate and provide financial support, develop policies, guidelines and training programs for rehabilitation professionals. Educational institutions should incorporate TR program into curricula to prepare students to gain practical experience and familiarity with the use of TR technology for their future clinical practice.