Volunteer Clinical Placements of Canadian Rehabilitation Students and Professionals within a Resource Poor Community Based Rehabilitation Project of Rural Kenya.

Purpose: The purpose for developing a partnership between a rural community based project in Kenya and Canadian rehabilitation students and professionals was: 1) to provide services to a resource poor area in Nyanza province, Kenya and 2) to develop an understanding of physiotherapy practice in developing communities through a volunteer placement.

Relevance: There is a shortage of trained rehabilitation (physical and occupational therapy) personnel throughout Eastern and Southern Africa. This shortage is as a result of few programs offering higher academic training for physiotherapists, occupational therapist and speech language pathologists. Other factors such as early death due to manageable illnesses such as HIV or malaria and decreased funding to support professionals within poorer countries impact the shortage. For Canadian health professionals, an opportunity to volunteer in a rural community based programme offers an international educational experience while providing care for disabled people who would otherwise be without rehabilitation services.

Description: Students and professionals from Canada interested in volunteering in rural Kenya identify themselves to the Kenya Working Group (KWG) of the International Center for Disability and Rehabilitation at the University of Toronto. Interested individuals meet with the KWG to discuss expectations, learning objectives and timeframe for placement. Before volunteers contact the programme coordinator in Kenya, they are given an outline of the Kenyan project area, an orientation package as well as a list of resources available within Kenya. Fundraising takes place as an organization and individually to subsidize costs of travel. The Kenyan programme coordinator arranges for community clinics, home visits, clinic days, and training sessions for rural community members. Upon their arrival, volunteers work are supervised and work alongside an accredited Kenyan physiotherapist.

Evaluation: Without volunteers, such a community would not otherwise receive rehabilitation services. Therefore, the success of the programme is determined by the number of community members assessed, treated and appropriately referred by the volunteers. In addition, the volunteers meet with the Kenyan programme coordinator weekly to discuss expectations, outcomes and challenges.

Conclusions: Rehabilitation became accessible to the resource poor community through volunteer placements by Canadian therapists in conjunction with Kenyan therapists. Students and therapists are given an opportunity to learn about challenges facing rural Kenyans (and members of other developing nations) through immersion in a community based rehabilitation project. Further research is needed in order to determine the impact of Canadian volunteer rehabilitation workers on the community as well as the impact on practice for therapists who have had this experience. Implications: This programme partnership could be used as a model for future programme partnerships between resource poor community based rehabilitation projects and advanced education or training programs in Canada. Furthermore, resource poor communities benefit through direct and immediate service provision. Such relationships can lead to an exchange of knowledge between the developed and developing worlds.