Building Rehabilitation Workforce Capacity Through the Development of Interprofessional Teams in Ukraine, Pakistan, Uganda, and Myanmar

Rehabilitation has been recognized as an important part of the health system; however, in many low-middle-income countries (LMICs), even the most basic rehabilitation services are scarce outside of specialized rehabilitation facilities, inadequately resourced and poorly coordinated with other health services. It is estimated that only three percent of the individuals who require rehabilitation can access the service in LMICs. Available evidence describes chronic shortages of rehabilitation workforce and contextual factors, like inequitable access to rehabilitation services, that add further pressure to trained professionals. Barriers to growing the rehabilitation workforce in LMICs include a lack of professional regulation, training programs, variations in the competencies expected within the standard curriculum, limited opportunities for continuing professional development, geopolitical instability, competing demands for limited health budgets, and poor understanding of the role of rehabilitation. This presentation explores an innovative approach to strengthening the rehabilitation workforce through the development and mentoring of local interprofessional teams to strengthen entry-level education programs, professional regulation, and continuing professional development (CPD) frameworks. The teams consisted of physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, and prosthetists/orthotists with implementation in Ukraine, Pakistan, Uganda, and Myanmar. Over four years, the interprofessional teams in each country were guided through reflective self-evaluations of current entry-level education, CPD frameworks, and professional regulation using the International Rehabilitation Education and Training Toolkit (IRETT) with teams completing worksheets for each stage of evaluation, planning and implementation. Local and international experts mentored the interprofessional teams to strengthen academic programs, including revising curricula to meet local and international standards, developing CPD frameworks specific to the context of the country, and promoting professional regulation at the national level. By supporting local professionals to work collaboratively, opportunities for shared resources and collective efforts were recognized.