Strengthening Rehabilitation Services in Health Systems Tajikistan

OVERVIEW

The USAID Strengthening Rehabilitation Services in Health Systems (SRSHS) project started in 2019 to strengthen rehab service delivery systems in Ukraine and Tajikistan by contributing to the development of policy and regulatory frameworks that are rooted in practical, local hospital-tested experiences; supporting physical therapy professionalization; and raising awareness of the relevance of rehab services to quality of life, especially for those affected by conflict. In Tajikistan, Momentum Wheels for Humanity (MWH) and World Physiotherapy initiated a partnership with the Republican Medical College (RMC) and in collaboration with the World Health Organization Tajikistan office, co-developed an Entry-Level Physical Therapy (PT-ELP) curriculum. The PT-ELP curriculum was approved by the Ministry of Education in 2022 and the program will launch in September 2023. The project received an eighteen-month cost extension to provide additional capacity building focused on technical assistance to RMC as the first cohort of students begin the PT-ELP and strengthening local leadership to take on an increased mentorship and quality assurance role.

GOALS OR PRIORITIES

Activity 1: Develop teaching materials for RMC on physical therapy subjects

World Physiotherapy mentors will develop teaching materials, including detailed syllabi with intended learning outcomes, course reports, question banks, lab checklists, lecture outlines, and complete lectures for the six PT subjects that are part of the entry-level physical therapy program (PT-ELP).

Activity 2: Conduct clinical bridge trainings

World Physiotherapy mentors will conduct five additional bridge training sessions – for a total of ten during the full period of performance - to develop the clinical skills of the RMC teachers and clinicians. To allow for more practical, hands-on training, the bridge training sessions will be held in clinical settings, which will build clinical skills of the RMC teachers that are necessary for teaching the PT subjects.

Activity 3: Build the capacity and expertise of local technical staff

MWH and World Physiotherapy will host online and in-person mentoring sessions for MWH’s local technical consultants to review key concepts and skills that will be covered in the bridge training and to refine their clinical reasoning, communication, and evaluation skills.

Activity 4: Develop an interim clinical practice model for second-year students

MWH will work with RMC and local stakeholders to pilot an interim clinical practice model for second year PT-ELP students.

Activity 5: Professional identity and PT association development

To support regional network relationship building, Tajik delegates will participate in World Physiotherapy’s World Congress in Dubai in June 2023. Additionally, World Physiotherapy will start to lay the groundwork for the development of a PT association in Tajikistan. This process will include skills building and leadership training for professional association development.

Activity 6: Support regulatory reform by fostering regional connections

MWH will coordinate with WHO to foster regional connections and learning exchanges that support regulatory reform and PT professionalization in Tajikistan. Focus areas of the regional exchanges will include topics such as PT professionalization, classification of the profession, and coding.

Activity 7: Strategic rehabilitation awareness campaign in support of WHO’s overarching strategy

MWH will launch a new rehabilitation awareness raising campaign in Tajikistan using a multilingual video series to reach a wider audience. Topics, content, and dissemination strategies will be developed in coordination with WHO to support their overarching strategy.