Effectiveness of an integrated model of community based rehabilitation on the quality of life of people with disabilities residing in urban slums South India

Nagarajan, Guru (2009) Effectiveness of an integrated model of community based rehabilitation on the quality of life of people with disabilities residing in urban slums South India. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

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Abstract

Disability has a profound impact on a person's quality of life (QOL). Rehabilitation, a process by which measures are taken to improve the QOL of people with disability (PWD) uses several approaches. Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) is one such approach, which evolved because of the magnitude of the problems of PWD in the community, the limited availability and poor access of rehabilitation services. Research in CBR is limited and hence there is lack of evidence on outcomes in CBR. Considering the need for more information on current practice and research in CBR, the researcher studied the effectiveness of an integrated model of CBR set up in the Christian Medical College, Vellore, South India (VCBR). The objectives of this study were to generate theory on the value of an `integrated model' that uses an educational strategy and to explore the value of secondary and tertiary care services for PWD in a community based rehabilitation programme for the improvement of their quality of life. A 'Case Study' design was used. The practitioner role of the researcher added an important component to this study. An in depth study of 20 PWD, their immediate family members, concerned trained volunteers (LS) and others who were involved in VCBR was undertaken in addition to observation and reference of documents. Qualitative Analysis was undertaken based on the Framework Technique. The quality of life of PWD and the role of secondary and tertiary care centres in VCBR were studied. In this study the realist approach, which takes note of the contextual elements in the evaluation of case study materials, showed that overall QOL of PWD will not improve to its full potential if solutions are mooted from polarized viewpoints. The study found that an integrated model of CBR that uses an educational strategy, has good links with secondary/tertiary care centres and makes use of social network/capital, which is available in the community, improved the overall QOL of PWD.

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