Sekome Kganetso, Sujee Laeeqa, Tomes Lauren, Pilusa Sonti
Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Front Rehabil Sci. 2023 Jul 27;4:1164525. doi: 10.3389/fresc.2023.1164525. eCollection 2023.
Physiotherapy is a healthcare profession that enhances human functioning and prevents further disability. In addition to this physiotherapy promotes health, wellbeing and the prevention of diseases. In South Africa, physiotherapy and rehabilitation services are largely accessed by those living in urban communities and those with private medical funding. Rehabilitation is an essential component of the package of care yet these services do not reach disadvantaged communities who vitally need them. Through the equitable provision of service-learning, physiotherapy students can play a vital role in improving rehabilitation access to vulnerable communities.
This paper illustrates how physiotherapy students studying at a South African university provide equitable services to disadvantaged rural and urban communities.
The first and second years of study focus on theoretical and classroom-based learning where students gain an understanding of basic principles of inclusion, equity, diversity, and self-awareness. In later years, students provide community-based services in urban and rural communities with a focus on increasing access to rehabilitation services. The clinical objectives which students are required to fulfil are guided by principles of public health and community rehabilitation. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the issue of poor access to rehabilitation services and the case study we provide demonstrates the roles physiotherapy students played to fill this gap. The authors offer a reflection from their involvement in physiotherapy student training and provide an example of a moment which displayed equity, diversity, and inclusion in their career.
There is a huge gap to fill in the provision of equitable rehabilitation services for the South African population. Institutions responsible for the training of physiotherapists, or any rehabilitation profession, should realize their role in service delivery through a service-learning approach.
物理治疗是一门促进人体机能提升并预防进一步残疾的医疗保健专业。除此之外，物理治疗还能促进健康、福祉和疾病预防。在南非，物理治疗和康复服务主要由城市社区居民和拥有私人医疗资金的人使用。康复是一揽子护理方案的重要组成部分，但这些服务并未惠及迫切需要它们的弱势社区。通过公平提供服务学习，物理治疗专业的学生可以在改善弱势社区获得康复服务方面发挥至关重要的作用。
本文阐述了在南非一所大学学习的物理治疗专业学生如何为弱势农村和城市社区提供公平服务。
学习的第一年和第二年侧重于理论和课堂学习，学生在此过程中了解包容、公平、多样性和自我意识的基本原则。在随后的几年里，学生在城市和农村社区提供基于社区的服务，重点是增加获得康复服务的机会。学生需要完成的临床目标以公共卫生和社区康复原则为指导。新冠疫情凸显了康复服务获取不足的问题，我们提供的案例研究展示了物理治疗专业学生为填补这一差距所发挥的作用。作者分享了他们参与物理治疗专业学生培训的反思，并提供了一个在其职业生涯中体现公平、多样性和包容的时刻的例子。
为南非民众提供公平的康复服务存在巨大差距。负责物理治疗师或任何康复专业培训的机构应通过服务学习方法认识到自己在服务提供中的作用。
