Education and training needs of rehabilitation personnel in New Zealand.

Rehabilitation services are provided by the personnel of numerous health and related agencies. This study attempts to identify the perceived educational and training needs of these service providers. Five particular aspects studied are presented, namely previous exposure to education and training in this field, interest in future courses, desired level of study, preferred type of course and preferred geographic venue. The results indicate that 74.0% of rehabilitation personnel are seeking education and training in rehabilitation in New Zealand and that accessibility is perceived as a priority by 91.2% of intending students. Future education and training in rehabilitation is thus likely to be effective only where there is adequate provision of part-time interdisciplinary courses at conveniently located venues.