A qualitative study on rehabilitation services at primary health care: insights from primary health care stakeholders in low-resource contexts

Abstract Background The chasm between rehabilitation needs and available rehabilitation services is widening. In most low-resource contexts, there are inadequate rehabilitation professionals at primary health care (PHC), leaving nonrehabilitation primary care providers’ (PCPs) and district rehabilitation professionals and managers to address patients’ rehabilitation needs. This study explored rehabilitation and non-rehabilitation PCPs’ and managers’ perspectives on the situation of rehabilitation service provision in PHC settings and the challenges experienced in providing rehabilitation care. Methods In this descriptive, exploratory qualitative study, individual semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with purposefully sampled PCPs in Manicaland, Zimbabwe and Eastern Cape, South Africa. The transcripts were analysed thematically using Atlas.ti. version 22.2®. Results Thirty-six PCPs (29 nonrehabilitation and 7 rehabilitation) and one district manager participated in the study. The current PHC rehabilitation services in the two low-resource contexts were described as inadequate, if not nonexistent. District rehabilitation professionals attempted to fill the gap through outreach and home visits, but resource limitations, particularly in Zimbabwe, often hampered this strategy. The nonrehabilitation PCPs took on task-shifting roles in the identification, referral, and education of patients with rehabilitation needs in the absence of rehabilitation professionals at PHC. Challenges encountered in providing rehabilitation care at PHC included unsupportive leadership, human resource shortages, lack of comprehensive PHC rehabilitation guidelines, no or delayed rehabilitation referral, lack of clear communication strategies, and users’ low demand for PHC rehabilitation. Conclusion Tailored approaches, including context-specific rehabilitation guidance for existing task-shifting models, increased investment in rehabilitation and increased rehabilitation awareness, are needed to establish basic rehabilitation services in the described contexts because they are mostly absent. Importantly, the PHC systems in which rehabilitation is to be nested need to be strengthened.