Evolution of Community Based Rehabilitation Concept in Qatar

Abstract

A community based rehabilitation (CBR) project was initiated in Qatar on September 2001 and the CBR service was introduced at the beginning of2003. Until December 2004,189 patients with primary physical disabilities were included 49% Qatari and 51% non-Qatari nationals; 81% male, 19% female; 6% children; 94% adults, aged 37 ± 18 years. The main interventions were training for involve-ment in life situations, job site training and providing fam-ily counseling and support. Rehabilitation conferences were held for 132 individuals of whom 25% were with traumatic brain injuries (TBI), 23% with spinal cord injuries (SCI), 20% with stroke, 9% with cerebral palsy (CP), 4% with neu-romuscular dystrophy (NMD), and 19% with other physi-cal disabilities (amputee, trauma etc.). The project demonstrated that CBR could successfully evolve using available resources and that patients present-ing with favorable predictors for reintegration could ben-efit from CBR programs. It was found that health and com-munity participants involved in CBR activities were able to collaborate on common goals but there is room for im-provement in the services available for people with disabili-ties (PwD). Implementation of CBR is sustainable only if people from the community take a leading and active role and work together with the experts and with the disabled people themselves