Submission ID 118165
| Issue/Objective | With an estimated 4.5 million Ugandans living with a disability and only 736 physiotherapist/occupational therapist registered on the allied health professional council, the needs to improve capacity in the provision of rehabilitation services is eminent. Based on an overarching objective of optimizing access to rehabilitation services for people living with a disability (PWD) in the Kasese district, we collectively defined rehabilitation priorities and co-created research priorities, including the use of teleconsultation. |
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| Methodology/Approach | Building on previous teleconsultation projects initiated in 2022, we co-created a research planning project using a participatory approach. We established partnerships, set-up adequate infrastructure needed for teleconsultation, co-developed a rehabilitation needs assessment protocol, conducted an environmental scan based on the WHO TRIC form, completed virtual meetings, and co-hosted in-person meetings with the Kasese community of PWD to identify research priorities around access to community-based rehabilitation services in the Kasese District in Uganda. |
| Results | Through the environmental scan, we identified the main causes of disabilities for children as resulting from falls, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and malaria. The main causes of disabilities reported for adults were road traffic injuries, orthopedic injuries, cardiovascular illness, and HIV. Few studies were specific to the Kasese District. Combining the causes of disabilities reported in the literature with those voiced by PWD, we co-developed 4 community-based rehabilitation research priorities. These priorities included: 1) improving knowledge and self-efficacy around prioritized health conditions, 2) improving the efficiency of field screenings for assistive devices, 3) improving rehabilitation services provision including teleconsultation, and 4) promoting ownership and independence of PWD. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | Throught this participatory approach, we learned the importance of allocating time to develop international partnerships. We identified that using teleconsultation was a feasible mechanism to create a meaningful and effective knowledge-sharing space. Finally, we established a participatory action-driven methodology that will inform future capacity-building projects. Harnessing the use of teleconsultation, we were able to successfully co-create impactful rehabilitation research priorities which will inform the co-design of a teleconsultation community-based rehabilitation project aiming to improved capacity-building in the Kasese district, Uganda. |
| Presenters and affiliations | Jennifer O'Neil University of Ottawa Robert Bwambale Kadupedi Peter Baluku Kadupedi Jacquie van Ierssel Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Brian Budgell Global Peace Network Kira Bullock Duke University |
