Community-based rehabilitation

Community Based Rehabilitation began as a pilot program in 2008 continuing to date that is administered through the Vietnam Ministry of Health and implemented by the Hanoi School of Public Health. The objectives are to improve the quality of life for the disabled and support impacted communities by providing services and knowledge for medical rehabilitation.. This pilot began with the recruitment of individuals with disabilities and their families in which trained technical staff provided education in physical therapy while evaluating homes for adaptive equipment and identifying disabled who could benefit from surgical interventions. In the first three years of program implementation, 650 staff and collaborators were trained in rehabilitation therapy. Over 7000 people with disabilities were identified and screened at central hospitals and referrals were based on individual need. Over 950 were evaluated for assistive devices that included customized wheelchairs, hearing aids, and several hundred were referred for surgical interventions. Plans are underway for replicating this model to others in need.