The added value of rehabilitation

Rehabilitation plays an essential role in long-term care, particularly in community settings and in countries with fewer resources, as it facilitates the caregiver role, reduces costs, and promotes the mental and physical health of the individual. Rehabilitation is intended both for people with disabilities and anyone who needs to recover from an injury or illness. In recent years, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has been helping countries in the Region of the Americas to strengthen rehabilitation services through situation analyses and the development of strategic plans. Good examples of this include interventions carried out in Aruba, the Bahamas, El Salvador, Guyana, and Uruguay. It is estimated that more than 220 million people could benefit from rehabilitation in the Region of the Americas. The recent increase in the proportion of years lived with disability (disability-adjusted life years, DALYs) in the Region is striking: the figure has risen from 22% to 32% in the last five years. This publication details the tools that PAHO makes available to countries in the Region to implement concrete measures in specific areas, such as leadership and governance; financing of rehabilitation; health information systems on rehabilitation; provision of specialized services (intervention packages and access to rehabilitation in primary health care); training of personnel; competency frameworks; consolidation of research and scientific data on rehabilitation; and strengthening of rehabilitation in emergencies. This publication details the tools that PAHO makes available to countries in the Region to implement concrete measures in specific areas, such as leadership and governance; financing of rehabilitation; health information systems on rehabilitation; provision of specialized services (intervention packages and access to rehabilitation in primary health care); training of personnel; competency frameworks; consolidation of research and scientific data on rehabilitation; and strengthening of rehabilitation in emergencies.