EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNITY PHYSIOTHERAPY IN TERMS OF FUNCTIONAL INDEPENDENCE FOR LOCOMOTOR DISABLED THROUGH REHABILITATION CAMPS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

Background & Purpose: People with disabilities are estimated to form 7-10% of the population in any country, and around 2% would need some form of rehabilitation services. Yet only 0.01% to 0.02% of the population in developing countries actually get such services. The purpose of this article has been to draw the attention of World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations to the existing situation of physiotherapy in developing countries in general. The objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of community physiotherapy services in relation to progress in ADLs of the locomotor disabled persons. Method: The subjects for the study were selected using the criteria used in 58th Round National Sample Survey Organisation to identify individuals with locomotor disability. The persons with co-morbid psychiatric illness except depression were excluded. In total nine conditions leading to physical disability were selected. The age group taken was 18 years and above. The physical therapy advice includes muscle strengthening /stretching exercises, relaxation exercise, bladder and bowel training, transfer training was demonstrated to patients at camps. They were given a questionnaire of FIM (Functional independence measure) in a local Hindi language to assess the improvement in the ADLs. The filled questionnaires were collected in the next camp held after 4 to 6 months. Results: The mean change in the score of FIM in case of SCI was (43.16 ± 13.75), stroke (40.12 ± 14.96), polio (13.94 ± 3.46), amputee (9.92 ± 5.95), burns (8.76 ± 4.54), cerebral palsy (28 ± 8.15), muscular dystrophy (17.76 ± 9.39), patello-femoral syndrome (27.23 ± 8.85) and other miscellaneous was (12.71 ± 3.05). The t-test score of all the nine parameters showed a highly significant difference between the scores. Conclusion: Community based physiotherapy plays a highly significant role in improving the ADLs of the locomotor disabled persons and should be highly encouraged.