ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
Examining the Availability and Accessibility of Rehabilitation Services in a Rural District of South Africa: A Mixed-Methods Study.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Beyond physical access: disability-inclusive primary health care as a test of health equity in Sub-Saharan Africa.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Low-cost Rehabilitation Solutions: Lessons From LMIC Settings.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2026Review
- Artificial Intelligence in Stroke Rehabilitation: A 20-Year Bibliometric Analysis of Digital Health Trends and Technologies.Brain and behavior · 2026Review
- Lower limb prosthesis abandonment and recycling of used components in the public healthcare sector of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.Canadian prosthetics & orthotics journal · 2026Article
- Barriers and facilitators experienced by people with neurological disabilities: A South African health systems perspective.Journal of public health in Africa · 2026Article
- Hearing healthcare for all? Investigating accessibility of public audiology services in Johannesburg, South Africa.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Physical rehabilitation delivery by community health workers: Views of the users and caregivers.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2025Article
- Setting a research agenda for speech therapy and audiology practice in South Africa.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2025Article
- 'Sometimes I feel like the only physio in the whole wide world, so alone'.The South African journal of physiotherapy · 2025Article
- Exploring the care pathway for neurological conditions in a Gauteng rehabilitation hospital, South Africa.African journal of disability · 2025Article
- Perceptions of physiotherapists regarding challenges experienced by patients with Deafness in accessing rehabilitative care.The South African journal of physiotherapy · 2025Article
- Let the records speak: an exploration of rehabilitation services offered in primary healthcare, Johannesburg metropolitan district.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Bridging the chasm between patients' needs and current rehabilitation care: perceptions of adults presenting for primary care in the Eastern Cape.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Non-use of healthcare services among persons with mobility impairments in Cofimvaba, South Africa.African journal of disability · 2023Article
- Cardiovascular diseases in Africa in the twenty-first century: Gaps and priorities going forward.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Review
- Expanding access to rehabilitation using mobile health to address musculoskeletal pain and disability.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionRehabilitation services aim to optimise individuals' functioning and reduce disability. However, people with disabilities, who represent a key population of users of rehabilitation services, continue to have unmet needs for rehabilitation services that include the provision of assistive devices. This paper examines the availability and accessibility of rehabilitation services in a rural district of South Africa in order to explore why unmet needs for rehabilitation services persist.
methodsAll nine district hospitals in a rural district of South Africa were included in the study. Rehabilitation services capacity was assessed by examining the available assistive devices, consumables and human resources at the level of the health facility. Data collection was conducted using the Global Co-operative Assistive Technology [GATE] Assistive Products List, AT2030's ATScale priority list and the South African National Catalogue of Commodities for Primary Health Care Facilities. Descriptive statistics were then used for the analysis. For the qualitative component, semi-structured interviews were conducted with adults with physical disabilities at household level to explore barriers to accessing assistive device inclusive rehabilitation services and the consequences thereof in the same rural district. An interview guide based on the WHO health system building blocks was used. Thematic content analysis guided the analysis of the interview transcripts.
findingsThe findings of the research demonstrate that rehabilitation service capacity in the district was constrained as a result of low availability of assistive devices [2-22%] and consumables [2-47%], as well as, possibly, a shortage of rehabilitation providers [
conclusionRehabilitation service availability is constrained by a lack of service capacity in rural South Africa. In addition, the rehabilitation services in district hospitals are not adequately accessible because of existing barriers to enable key populations to achieve optimised functioning.
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Registered trials
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