Browsing by Author "Statham, Sue"

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    Experiences of patients and service providers with out-patient rehabilitation services in a rehabilitation centre in the Western Cape Province
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2015-12) Kumurenzi, Anne; Goliath, Charlyn; Mji, Gubela; Mlenzana, Nondwe; Joseph, Conran; Statham, Sue; Rhoda, Anthea
    Background: Rehabilitation is important for persons with disabilities as it contributes to their sense of autonomy, self-worth and social participation, and improves their quality of life. Improving the quality of rehabilitation services requires the dialogue of patients’ perceptions with those of service providers, in order to recommend informed reform. Objective: The objective was to explore the experiences of persons with physical disabilities and service providers, regarding the multi-disciplinary rehabilitation services provided at a community-based out-patient rehabilitation centre. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory study design was used to collect the data. A focus group was conducted with conveniently selected persons with physical disabilities. Three in-depth interviews were conducted with purposively selected key informants. All ethical considerations were adhered to during the implementation of the study. Results: Patients and service providers had different experiences regarding accessibility to rehabilitation services, and similar experiences with patient education and intensity of rehabilitation. Although the patients experienced that the service providers had sufficient knowledge and skills to manage them, services providers expressed that they lacked certain skills. Conclusions: The experiences expressed highlighted the need to improve rehabilitation services in terms of increasing the capacity of service providers and providing transport services for persons with disabilities.
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    A protocol for the methodological steps used to evaluate the alignment of rehabilitation services in the Western Cape, South Africa with the National Rehabilitation Policy
    (BioMed Central, 2017-03) Mji, Gubela; Rhoda, Anthea; Statham, Sue; Joseph, Conran
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: Rehabilitation medicine plays an integral part in attainment of optimal functioning after injury or disease. The National Rehabilitation Policy of South Africa (NRP) (2000) highlights the need for access to professional health care services, redistribution and optimal utilisation of resources and research in the field of disability and rehabilitation. The government further ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (2007), which validate the urgency in advancing the agenda of persons with disabilities. This paper outlines the methodological plan for evaluating rehabilitation services in the Western Cape, South Africa against the aims and objectives of the NRP as well as its principles and concepts. The evaluation process further focused on specific articles in the CRPD that were aligned with disability, health and rehabilitation. Methods/Design: A mixed-method design was used to evaluate the alignment of rehabilitation services with the NRP in the Western Cape. Four rehabilitation study settings were selected to ensure that both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation levels of care were covered at different contexts (rural and peri-urban). The sites were checked for the most prevalent rehabilitation-related conditions to ensure the identification of suitable instruments for measuring rehabilitation outcomes. Each study setting was linked to two researchers with one exploring the rehabilitation organizational structure of the sites and the other exploring the client outcomes after receiving rehabilitation services. Patients were evaluated at baseline and discharge, within seven days after admission and seven days prior to discharge. The evaluation was based on the rehabilitation organizational capacity to provide patient-oriented rehabilitation and the measurement of rehabilitation outcomes. Kaplan’s framework of organisational capacity was used in the context of each study setting. For the measurement of service users’ outcomes, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health was used (ICF). Standardised outcome measures were adopted for the domains of impairment, activity and participation. The World Health Organisation Community-Based Rehabilitation guidelines were used as guiding principles and concepts as suggested in the NRP. Discussion: This is a groundbreaking methodological exploration that offers both study methods and instruments to measure rehabilitation services at both in-patient and out-patient rehabilitation services.