Barriers and enabling factors for utilizing physical rehabilitation services by Afghan immigrants and refugees with disabilities in Iran: a qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: Individuals with a migrant background often underutilize physical rehabilitation services (PRS) compared to the host population. This disparity is attributed to various barriers, including limited access to information, language barriers, illiteracy, and cultural factors. To improve PRS utilization by Afghan immigrants and refugees in Iran, it is crucial to identify these barriers and enabling factors. In response, this study explored the barriers and enabling factors for utilizing PRS among Afghan immigrants and refugees with disabilities in Iran. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted in Iran between January and March 2023. Participants were selected through convenient and snowball sampling. Individual, semi-structured interviews were carried out both in face-to-face and online formats. Data analysis occurred concurrently with data collection, using the directed content analysis approach. RESULTS: Findings from our research indicate that common barriers to PRS utilization among Afghan immigrants and refugees include insufficient insurance coverage, high service costs, expensive transportation and accommodation, limited knowledge about Iran's health system, inadequate awareness of available supports, restricted access to PRS in remote areas, impatience among PRS providers, fear of arrest and deportation, a lack of trust in modern treatments, stringent immigration rules, high inflation rates limiting the ability to pay for PRS, and limited social support. On the other hand, several enabling factors were identified, such as strengthening insurance coverage, utilizing the capacities of charities and NGOs, providing information about available services, promoting respectful behavior by healthcare providers towards patients, facilitating cultural integration, and increasing immigrants' awareness of available services and eligibility criteria. CONCLUSION: The barriers and enabling factors uncovered in this study offer valuable insights into the complexities surrounding PRS utilization by Afghan immigrants and refugees with disabilities in Iran. Understanding and addressing these factors is essential for developing targeted interventions and policies that can improve access and utilization, ultimately leading to enhanced health outcomes for this vulnerable population.

Barriers and facilitators of integrating physiotherapy into primary health care settings: A systematic scoping review of qualitative research.

Purpose: This scoping review investigated the barriers and facilitators to integrating physiotherapy into primary health care (PHC). Materials and methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, ProQuest, and REHABDATA were searched. Two independent reviewers were involved in screening, selecting, and extracting data. Data were synthesized using thematic analysis. Results: Of the 483 screened documents, 44 qualitative studies, primarily from high-income countries, were included. All of the studies had good methodological quality. Barriers and facilitators of integrating physiotherapy into PHC were extracted within the WHO six building blocks framework. In total, 41 items were identified as barriers to the integration process. The studies included 49 recommendations to facilitate integrating physiotherapy services into PHC. Conclusion: Integrating physiotherapy services into PHC faces many barriers. The most commonly suggested potential barriers are poor knowledge of physicians about physiotherapy, ineffective teamwork, physiotherapists' time constraints/workload, a lack of clarity over the role and knowledge of physiotherapists, unawareness of physiotherapy users about these services, and lack of intra- and inter-professional collaborations. The most commonly suggested recommendations to facilitate the integration process include: Clarifying the role of involved professionals, strengthening teamwork, improving intra- and inter-professional collaborations, and providing comprehensive training programs for physiotherapists.

"Otherwise he will be a beggar": a focus group study to understand the Perspectives of physiotherapists about measuring rehabilitation outcomes and impact in low-resource and conflict-affected settings.

PURPOSE: Rehabilitation outcomes are important for patients, professionals and policy makers. Most outcome measures (OMs) were developed for "Western" contexts and may be inadequate for low-resource and conflict settings, where the ability to demonstrate impact would be critical to strengthening the sector. This study aims to understand perspectives of physiotherapists from challenging environments regarding current practices, value, barriers, and facilitators of measuring rehabilitation outcomes. MATERIALS & METHODS: Focus group discussions were held in English with 35 physiotherapists from 18 countries. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim, anonymised, and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Four themes emerged illustrating the levels at which outcomes and measures were discussed: User (patients, families), provider (physiotherapists, rehabilitation workers), application (OMs), and structure (management, health system). Participants discussed diversity in current practices and patient populations, utility of OMs and a neglected rehabilitation sector lacking investment. Barriers to progressing outcome measurement included lacking patient health literacy, rehabilitation provider training, valid OMs, and leadership. Participants suggested improved patient involvement, routine outcome measurement by using, developing, or adapting simple, context- and stakeholder-relevant OMs, and support from management. CONCLUSIONS: These insights illustrate the need of and provide robust recommendations for context-adapted development of rehabilitation outcome measurement in various challenging contexts.

Rehabilitation outcomes are important to show impact in low-resource and conflict settings, but most outcome measures originate from "Western" contextsExperience of physiotherapists from low-resource and conflict settings reveals the barriers and facilitators to measuring rehabilitation outcomes in their workplacesParticipants' suggest to use or develop simple scales that are contextualised and stakeholder-relevant for standard, routine measurementThis study highlights the need to improve the measurement of rehabilitation outcomes in challenging contexts and provides guidance on how to do so.

Do we really want to know? The journey to implement empirical research recommendations in the ICRC's responses in Myanmar and Lebanon.

Efforts to reduce the gap between the research evidence base and humanitarian responses have focused on producing quality evidence and ensuring its use in decision-making. Yet, how evidence translates into field-level implementation is not well understood in humanitarian contexts. This study analysed how recommendations produced through academic research partnerships were implemented by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Lebanon and Myanmar. The methodology included: social network analysis to represent collective dynamics; document reviews to assess implementation; qualitative interviews to comprehend why actors engaged; and a critical appraisal of these combined results. The application of Extended Normalization Process Theory provided information on 'anticipation of constraints' (access to information, staff turnover, context specificity, and the need to engage as a cohesive group). Future research efforts should concentrate explicitly on identifying and tackling implementation barriers such as power imbalances and ethical dilemmas related to service delivery by humanitarian actors.

Ways to improve surgical outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.

Global surgery initiatives such as the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery have highlighted the need for increased investment to enhance surgical capacity in low- and middle-income countries. A neglected issue, however, is surgery-related rehabilitation, which is known to optimize functional outcomes after surgery. Increased investment to enhance surgical capacity therefore needs to be complemented by promotion of rehabilitation interventions. We make the case for strengthening surgery-related rehabilitation in lower-resource countries, outlining the challenges but also potential solutions and policy directions. Proposed solutions include greater leadership and awareness, augmented by recent global efforts around the World Health Organization's Rehabilitation 2030 initiative, and professionalization of the rehabilitation workforce. More research on rehabilitation is needed in low- and middle-income countries, along with support for system approaches, notably on strengthening and integrating rehabilitation within the health systems. Finally, we outline a set of policy implications and recommendations, aligned to the components of the national surgical plan proposed by the Lancet Commission: infrastructure, workforce, service delivery, financing, and information management. Collaboration and sustained efforts to embed rehabilitation within national surgical plans is key to optimize health outcomes for patients with surgical conditions and ensure progress towards sustainable development goal 3: health and well-being for all.

À l'instar de la Commission Lancet sur la chirurgie mondiale, des initiatives internationales consacrées à ce sujet ont mis en évidence le besoin d'investir davantage dans le renforcement des capacités chirurgicales dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire. Néanmoins, la réadaptation post-chirurgicale, connue pour améliorer les résultats fonctionnels après une intervention, reste un enjeu largement ignoré. Ces investissements accrus visant à renforcer les capacités chirurgicales doivent donc aller de pair avec une promotion des services de réadaptation. Dans le présent document, nous plaidons pour le développement d'une réadaptation post-chirurgicale dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire, en identifiant les défis mais aussi les orientations politiques et les solutions possibles. Parmi elles, un meilleur leadership et une prise de conscience, favorisée par les récents efforts mondiaux qui ont entouré l'initiative Réadaptation 2030 de l'Organisation mondiale de la Santé, ainsi qu'une professionnalisation du personnel dédié à la réadaptation. D'autres recherches sur la réadaptation sont nécessaires dans les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire, tout comme l'apport d'un soutien aux approches systémiques, en particulier pour consolider et intégrer de telles pratiques dans les systèmes de santé. Enfin, nous dégageons une série de recommandations et d'implications politiques inspirés des éléments du plan chirurgical national proposé par la Commission Lancet: infrastructures, main-d'œuvre, prestations de services, financement et gestion des informations. La collaboration et la poursuite des efforts en vue d'inclure la réadaptation dans les plans chirurgicaux nationaux jouent un rôle crucial dans l'amélioration des résultats cliniques chez les patients souffrant de complications post-opératoires. En outre, elles permettront de progresser vers le troisième objectif de développement durable: santé et bien-être pour tous à tout âge.

Las iniciativas de cirugía a nivel mundial, como la Comisión Lancet sobre Cirugía Mundial, han destacado la necesidad de aumentar la inversión para mejorar la capacidad quirúrgica en los países de ingresos bajos y medios. Sin embargo, se ha descuidado la rehabilitación relacionada con la cirugía, que se sabe que optimiza los resultados funcionales después de la intervención. Por lo tanto, el incremento de la inversión para mejorar la capacidad quirúrgica se debe complementar con la promoción de intervenciones de rehabilitación. En este artículo se defiende la necesidad de reforzar la rehabilitación relacionada con la cirugía en los países con menos recursos, y se exponen los desafíos, pero también las posibles soluciones y orientaciones políticas. Las soluciones propuestas incluyen un mayor liderazgo y concienciación, potenciados por los recientes esfuerzos mundiales en torno a la iniciativa Rehabilitación 2030 de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, y la profesionalización del personal de rehabilitación. Se necesita más investigación sobre la rehabilitación en los países de ingresos bajos y medios, junto con el apoyo a los enfoques sistémicos, en particular sobre el fortalecimiento y la integración de la rehabilitación dentro de los sistemas sanitarios. Por último, se expone un conjunto de implicaciones y recomendaciones políticas, alineadas con los componentes del plan quirúrgico nacional que propone la Comisión Lancet: infraestructura, personal, prestación de servicios, financiación y gestión de la información. La colaboración y los esfuerzos sostenidos para integrar la rehabilitación en los planes quirúrgicos nacionales son fundamentales para optimizar los resultados sanitarios de los pacientes con afecciones quirúrgicas y asegurar el progreso hacia el tercer objetivo de desarrollo sostenible: salud y bienestar para todos.

Retrospective observational study of characteristics of persons with amputations accessing International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) rehabilitation centres in five conflict and postconflict countries.

OBJECTIVES: Limb amputation incidence is particularly high in fragile contexts due to conflict, accidents and poorly managed diabetes. The study aim was to analyse (1) demographic and amputation characteristics of persons with any type of acquired amputation (PwA) and (2) time between amputation and first access to rehabilitation in five conflict and postconflict countries. DESIGN: A retrospective, observational study analysing differences in demographic and clinical factors and time to access rehabilitation between users with traumatic and non-traumatic amputations. SETTING: Five countries with the highest numbers of PwA in the global International Committee of the Red Cross database (Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq, Myanmar, Sudan). Cleaned and merged data from 2009 to 2018 were aggregated by sex; age at amputation and registration; cause, combination and anatomical level of amputation(s); living environment. PARTICIPANTS: All PwA newly attending rehabilitation. RESULTS: Data for 28 446 individuals were included (4329 (15.2%) female). Most were traumatic amputations (73.4%, 208 90); of these, 48.6% (138 01) were conflict related. Average age at traumatic amputation for men and women was 26.9 and 24.1 years, respectively; for non-traumatic amputation it was 49.1 years and 45.9 years, respectively. Sex differences in age were statistically significant for traumatic and non-traumatic causes (p<0.001, p=0.003). Delay between amputation and rehabilitation was on average 8.2 years for those with traumatic amputation, significantly higher than an average 3 years for those with non-traumatic amputation (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Young age for traumatic and non-traumatic amputations indicates the devastating impact of war and fragile health systems on a society. Long delays between amputation and rehabilitation reveal the mismatch of needs and resources. For rehabilitation service providers in fragile settings, it is an enormous task to manage the diversity of PwA of various causes, age, sex and additional conditions. Improved collaboration between primary healthcare, surgical and rehabilitation services, a prioritisation of rehabilitation and increased resource provision are recommended to ensure adequate access to comprehensive rehabilitation care for PwA.

A Focus Group Study to Understand the Perspectives of Physiotherapists on Barriers and Facilitators to Advancing Rehabilitation in Low-Resource and Conflict Settings.

Physiotherapy as a health profession is continuously evolving in high-income countries (HIC). The highest burden of disease globally, however, is in low-resource and conflict contexts (LR-CC), resulting in unmet rehabilitation needs. Rehabilitation service models from HIC often face challenges when applied to the fragile health systems of LR-CC. It is important to engage rehabilitation experts living and working in LR-CC to guide service development. This study aims to understand physiotherapists' views and perspectives of current rehabilitation services, of how these services can be strengthened over the next 10 years and of the role of physiotherapy within this development. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 31 physiotherapists from 18 LR-CC using English as a common language. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was guided by thematic analysis. Participants provided deep insights into the complexity of developing rehabilitation services within fragile health systems. Participants agreed that physiotherapy lacked recognition and resources to be utilised effectively. Interacting themes as crucial prerequisites for strengthening the sector included (1) significance of context, (2) professional identity, and (3) professionalisation supported by workforce development and advocacy. These results are an important evidence base for informing the development of rehabilitation programmes in LR-CC and for future research.

Users of rehabilitation services in 14 countries and territories affected by conflict, 1988-2018.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the demographic and clinical characteristics of people attending physical rehabilitation centres run or supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross in countries and territories affected by conflict. METHODS: Of 150 such rehabilitation centres worldwide, 38 use an electronic patient management system. We invited all 38 centres to participate. We extracted de-identified data from 1988 to 2018 and categorized them by sex, age, country or territory and reason for using rehabilitation services. FINDINGS: Thirty-one of the 38 rehabilitation centres in 14 countries and territories participated. We included data for 287 274 individuals. Of people using rehabilitation services, 61.6% (176 949/287 274) were in Afghanistan, followed by 15.7% (44 959/287 274) in Cambodia. Seven places had over 9000 service users each (Afghanistan, Cambodia, Gaza Strip, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia and Sudan). Overall, 72.6% (208 515/287 274) of service users were male. In eight countries, more than half of the users were of working age (18-59 years). Amputation was the most common reason for using rehabilitation services; 33.3% (95 574/287 274) of users were people with amputations, followed by 13.7% (39 446/287 274) with cerebral palsy. The male predominance was greater in the population aged 18-34 years (83.1%; 71 441/85 997) and in people with amputations (88.6%; 84 717/95 574) but was evident across all places, age groups and health conditions. CONCLUSION: The considerably lower attendance of females at the rehabilitation centres highlights the need to understand the factors that affect the accessibility and acceptability of rehabilitation for women and girls in conflict settings.

Successful weight loss and maintenance in everyday clinical practice with an individually tailored change of eating habits on the basis of food energy density.

BACKGROUND: Weight change was analyzed in a cohort of obese patients whose eating habits were changed individually mainly on the basis of food energy density (ED) to evaluate the feasibility of this concept for a larger controlled trial. METHOD: Five hundred and thirteen outpatients were treated between January 2003 and December 2006. Dietary counseling was based on a pretreatment food diary. In January 2008, a follow-up (FU) was made. For pre- and post-change eating habits, 5184 dietary protocols of 189 patients were analyzed. RESULTS: During 10.5 months of treatment, patients lost weight from an initial BMI of 38.8 ± 8.5 by -0.195 kg/m(2) per month; 36% had weight loss >5%, 44% lost 0-4.9% and 20% had weight gain. At follow-up, 413 patients (80.5%) were reached of whom 80 were still in treatment while 333 were considered as self-treatment (ST) group. The ST group had further weight loss by -0.053 kg/m(2) per month over 16.8 months (40% weight loss, 46% maintenance and 14% weight gain), and 164 patients with type-2-diabetes had greater weight loss compared to those without diabetes during ST (Δ-BMI-0.166 vs. -0.028 points/month; p < 0.0001). Energy intake (EI) was reduced by lower ED, beverages and number of meals. Average carbohydrate, fat and protein intake was reduced by 28, 42, and 7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: In a unselected cohort of substantially obese patients, the individual change of eating habits based primarily on food ED in conjunction with beverage intake and meal frequency weight loss continued beyond the supported treatment phase indicating a good patient adherence. We consider these data as an encouraging pilot study that certainly requires confirmation under controlled conditions.