Masters Degrees (Speech-Language and Hearing Therapy)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Speech-Language and Hearing Therapy) by Author "Banda-Chalwe, M."

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    An investigation into the impact of a community-based rehabilitation intervention strategy on persons with physical disabilities in an urban and rural setting in Zambia
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2005-04) Banda-Chalwe, M.; Mji, M. G.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Science . Dept. of Interdisciplanry Health Sciences . Centre for Rehabilitation Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The decentralisation of health care services in the primary health care system poses a challenge to the delivery of care to the communities in Zambia. Little is being done in the Ministry of Health to incorporate community-based rehabilitation (CBR) in the mainstream of primary health care service delivery despite rehabilitation being regarded as the fourth component of primary health care. According to statistics, there are 256 690 (2.7%) persons with disabilities in Zambia, of which 38.8% are persons with physical disabilities. There are various community-based rehabilitation programmes in the country trying to meet the needs of persons with disabilities but these programmes have not been evaluated to determine the impact which CBR has on the lives of persons with disabilities. This study aimed to determine the impact of a community-based rehabilitation intervention strategy on persons with physical disabilities in an urban and rural setting in Zambia. It is hoped that the results of this study can be utilised as a means to lobby the Zambian government to become involved in the rehabilitation process. An experimental study was done using a community-based rehabilitation intervention strategy on 66 persons with physical disabilities, of which 62% were male and 38% female, from Lusaka urban and Chipata rural community-based rehabilitation programmes. The researcher completed a self-compiled questionnaire during a personal interview with the participants/proxy. The questionnaire comprised demographic data and an assessment of the disability status of persons with physical disabilities regarding movement, functional activities and their integration into the community. Perceptions of persons with physical disabilities or their proxy as regards their disability status and experiences were also assessed by means of two open-ended questions in the questionnaire. The community-based rehabilitation intervention strategy was conducted for six (6) months by the community rehabilitation workers who visited participants once a week. Data was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively to determine the impact of a community-based rehabilitation intervention strategy and to test the null hypothesis. The results of this study showed that in Lusaka on one hand, persons with physical disabilities had improvements in movement, functional activities and integration level. On the other hand, Chipata showed that persons with physical disabilities had improvements only regarding integration into the community. However, combined scores showed that community-based rehabilitation had an impact on persons with physical disabilities regarding movement, functional activities and integration into the community. The study also showed that there was a correlation between integration and movement, and integration and functional activities. There was no correlation between integration and caregiver provision and dependency, whereas there was a negative correlation between perceptions and integration. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the Ministry of Health takes up the responsibility of spearheading and coordinating community-based rehabilitation programmes and incorporating the activities in the existing structures of primary health care.