Factors influencing access to and participation in rehabilitation for people with lower limb amputation in East, South, and Southeast Asian developing countries: the perspective of rehabilitation professionals – a qualitative study

Abstract

Purpose

To identify barriers and enablers for access to and participation in rehabilitation for people with LLA in East, South, and Southeast Asian developing countries from the perspective of rehabilitation professionals.

Material and methods

A mixed-method study involving an anonymous cross-sectional screening survey followed by in-depth interviews of rehabilitation professionals in these regions following the COREQ guidelines. Participants were surveyed online using convenience and snowball sampling techniques to inform a purposive heterogenic sample for semi-structured online interviews, between September 2021 to February 2022. Interview transcripts were analysed and thematically coded using the modified Health Care Delivery System Approach (HCDSA) framework.

Results

A total of 201 quantitative survey responses shaped the interview questions and participation of 28 participants from 13 countries for the qualitative investigation. Important factors at the patient level were sex, economics, health issues, language differences, and lack of awareness; at the care team level, peer and/or family support, referrals, and the gender of the professional; at the organizational level, service availability, resources, and quality; and at the environmental level, policies, supports, and physical and/or social accessibility.

Conclusions

Identified interlinked factors at multiple levels of the HCDSA underpin the need for a systems approach to develop and address regional rehabilitation service provision but requires contextually adapted policy.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• Amputation rehabilitation practices need improvements in the developing Asian region including evaluation and redesign of, and processes and policies by, policy makers with increased support for those with lower limb amputation.

• The consistent factors identified in these regions as negatively impacting rehabilitation services suggest opportunities to collaborate and design common mitigation approaches between rehabilitation providers across countries.

• Unique local factors impacting rehabilitation in different countries suggest the necessity for customization in consultation with rehabilitation practitioners rather than the adoption of generic charitable models by external agencies.

• Rehabilitation professionals and others responsible for rehabilitation policy and practice should systematically target factors impacting rehabilitation outcomes for improvements at all levels within the health care systems.

Keywords:

• Access
• participation
• rehabilitation
• amputation
• Asian developing countries

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge the survey and interview participants for sharing both their time and experiences. This study would not have been possible without their contributions, and that of those who shared our invitation to enable the participants involvement.

Disclosure statement

The authors confirm they have no potential conflict of interest in the study.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.