Factors impeding the advancement of communitybased rehabilitation (CBR): Degree of understanding of professionals about CBR

Abstract

[Purpose] To evaluate the state of understanding of specialist personnel engaged in community-based rehabilitation (CBR) about the definition, service recipients, range, and teamwork factors of CBR, and to clarify factors inhibiting CBR cooperation. [Subjects] The subjects were 440 workers of 24 professions involved in CBR in an urban region, where CBR resources are sufficient, and a rural region, where they are insufficient, in Aomori Prefecture. [Methods] A questionnaire was distributed by visiting the subjects and collected by mail. A pamphlet describing the desirable state of CBR was prepared and distributed with the self-administered questionnaire. [Results] The subjects of all professions in both the urban and rural regions did not know or had different understandings of the definition, service recipients, range, and teamwork factors of CBR described in the pamphlet. As causes of the differences in understanding, self-restriction of activities and deviations from the concept of CBR were observed in many professions. [Conclusion] To close this gap as a measure, it is necessary not only for those directly engaged in CBR to improve their own skills by self-education, but also for training facilities, including the community-based rehabilitation support center, to more earnestly provide training sessions as a measure to support their efforts.