Abstract
Background: Rehabilitation is of fundamental importance for the persons with disability to achieve functional independence and have an improved quality of life. To enhance the effectiveness of rehabilitation, it is important to seek clients’ perspectives of the rehabilitation services and to incorporate these perspectives into the planning and delivery of rehabilitation services. The aim of this study was to explore the persons with physical disabilities’ experiences of the rehabilitation services they received at Community Health Centres (CHCs). Methods: In-depth qualitative interviews were used to collect data. Ten persons with physical disabilities, who had received rehabilitation services at CHCs participated in the in-depth interviews. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: The clients experienced problems with accessing transport and obtaining information from the service providers. Experiences regarding clients’ involvement in the rehabilitation were varied. All the clients reported positive experiences regarding their interaction with service providers and family involvement. Conclusion: The experiences of the participants who accessed CHCs for rehabilitation were positive and negative. The service providers should therefore address the aspects of rehabilitation that were negatively experienced.
Highlights
Living with a disability can interfere with a person’s ability to participate actively in economic and social life (Phillips & Noumbissi, 2004)
The service providers should address the aspects of rehabilitation that were negatively experienced
Lack of care for emotional needs of service users was found to be common in studies reporting on reha bilitation experiences of persons with disability (Biggs, 2008, Hammel, 2007), the participants in the present study reported that the service providers took care of their emotional needs
Summary
Living with a disability can interfere with a person’s ability to participate actively in economic and social life (Phillips & Noumbissi, 2004). This is exacerbated in contexts where rehabilitation services are unavailable or inadequate. The feedback informs the service providers about the service users’ perception of the quality of the service provided This approach is based on the social model of disability (Wressle, 2002). Rehabilitation is of fundamental importance for the persons with disability to achieve functional independence and have an improved quality of life. Rhoda A, PhD1 with physical disabilities’ experiences of the rehabilitation services they received at Community Health Centres (CHCs)
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