WCPT is committed to the development of primary health care and community based rehabilitation

A motion was passed at the 14th General Meeting of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) in May 1999 that WCPT develop a plan to recognise and promote the role of physical therapists in Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR). The motion was the result of a workshop, research, and discussion in the Africa Region to develop a Regional profile of CBR, and in particular, to document the role, involvement, and opinion of physical therapists in CBR in Africa .

The WCPT Executive Committee asked the Africa Region to help in developing a discussion paper and questionnaire to send to Member Organisations. This was done and circulated to Member Organisations in June 2002. A request for information on primary heath care was also circulated given the current worldwide health care reform in this area and the close relationship between primary health care and CBR.

Following the 15th General Meeting of WCPT in June 2003 a programme of work in this area was approved by WCPT's Member Organisations.

To date:

A new Declaration of Principle on primary health care has been approved
A new Position Statement on CBR has been approved
The Declaration of Principle on Education has been revised
A summary of the results of WCPT's CBR survey has been distributed to Member Organisation
WCPT has actively contributed to the international review of CBR
The results of the survey and supplementary literature review were presented at the WCPT Congress June 2003
A primary health care and CBR strand of events was identified and promoted at the WCPT Congress June 2003
A briefing paper on CBR and primary health care, resulting from the work above, has been produced
This area of the website has been initiated and will continue to be developed

In the future:

• WCPT will develop its Keynotes publications to include topics relevant to CBR and primary health care
• WCPT hopes to establish an electronic discussion list for physical therapists interested in primary health care and CBR
• WCPT will work to proactively raise its profile with international organisations, including leading Non-Governmental Organisations and disabled People's Organisations, to raise the profile of physical therapy and further the development of primary health care and CBR to benefit clients

International Review of CBR

The international review of CBR was organised by the Disability and Rehabilitation team of WHO, in collaboration with other United Nations Agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations. A consultation meeting took place in Helsinki , Finland 25-28 May 2003, hosted by the Government of Finland. WCPT actively contributed to this consultation, through liaison with WHO, the submission of material and the participation of a WCPT delegate in the Helsinki meeting.

The background papers for the meeting can be accessed at: http://www.aifo.it/languages/cbr/reviewofcbr.htm

 

The revised position statement on CBR from ILO, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF & WHO is available from the the WHO website

 

WCPT has no control over the content or condition of any external sites linked to this site. These links are provided for the convenience of users but they do not imply any endorsement of any organisation, product, or service.

Project Manager Tracy Bury tbury@wcpt.org

Feedback on this section is welcomed.  Please notify Tracy of any problems with links and suggestions for additions.  Information in languages other than English would be particularly welcome.