Clinical Motivation Experience Practicum at Rehabilitation Center, Boston: A Case Study.

Rehabilitation is defined as “a set of interventions designed to optimize functioning and reduce disability in individuals with health conditions in interaction with their environment”. Anybody may need rehabilitation at some point in their lives, following an injury, surgery, disease or illness, or because their functioning has declined with age.

Some examples of rehabilitation include Speech and language training to improve a person’s communication after a brain injury; physical exercise training to improve muscle strength, voluntary movements and balance in persons with stroke or Parkinson disease; modifying an older person’s home environment to improve their safety and independence at home and to reduce their risk of falls; educating a person with heart disease on how to exercise safely; preparing a person with an amputation to be able to use a prosthetic and making, fitting and refitting the prosthesis; positioning and splinting techniques to assist with skin healing, reduce swelling, and to regain movement after burn surgery; prescribing medicine to reduce spasticity for a child with cerebral palsy; psychological therapies for a person with emotional distress following a spinal cord injury; Social skills training for persons with schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders or disorders of intellectual disability. training a person with vision loss in the use of a white cane; and working with a patient in intensive care to improve their breathing, prevent complications and speed their recovery after critical illness.

Rehabilitation is an essential part of universal health coverage along with the promotion of good health, prevention of disease, treatment and palliative care. Rehabilitation helps a child, adult or older person to be as independent as possible in everyday activities and enables participation in education, work, recreation and meaningful life roles such as taking care of family. Globally, an estimated 2.4 billion people are currently living with a health condition that may benefit from rehabilitation. With changes taking place in the health and characteristics of the population worldwide, this estimated need for rehabilitation is only going to increase in the coming years. People are living longer, with the number of people over 60 years of age predicted to double by 2050, and more people are living with chronic diseases such as diabetes, stroke and cancer. At the same time, the ongoing incidence of injury and child developmental conditions (such as cerebral palsy) persist. These health conditions can impact an individual’s functioning and are linked to increased levels of disability, for which rehabilitation can be beneficial.

In many parts of the world, this increasing need for rehabilitation is going largely unmet. More than half of people living in low- and middle-income countries who require rehabilitation services do not receive them.

The need for rehabilitation worldwide is predicted to increase due to changes in the health and characteristics of the population. For example, people are living longer, but with more chronic disease and disability. Currently, the need for rehabilitation is largely unmet. In some low- and middle-income countries, more than 50% of people do not receive the rehabilitation services they require. Emergencies including conflicts, disasters and outbreaks create enormous surges in rehabilitation needs while also disrupting rehabilitation services. Rehabilitation is an important part of universal health coverage and is a key strategy for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 – “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.

In this case study, an in-depth review of the situation of the rehabilitation centre practicum at Bostson, United States of America, is, highlighting important contributions that this research/practicum conducted by a student of the Department of Social Sciences Education, of the Catholic University of Ghana, Fiapre-Sunyani, could make to this important field of rehabilitation research in the next two decades.