Table 1.
Leadership institute projects and results.
| Type of project | Project title | Project results |
|---|---|---|
| Promoting awareness of physiotherapy services in the community to improve utilization by individuals with disabilities and dysfunction | Increasing awareness of physiotherapy among health-care providers in Kayonza district | One physiotherapist in the Kiziguro district has visited a health center to raise awareness of physiotherapy and reports an increase in referrals to the hospital |
| Increasing awareness of physiotherapy services among physicians through interprofessional training in Rwanda district hospitals | Met with physicians and community health workers. Physicians refer children with complicated birth history to physiotherapy before discharge from hospital. Community health workers refer children with suspected developmental delay | |
| Improvement of community utilization of physiotherapy services through interprofessional education | ||
| Establishment of online resources for physiotherapists and individuals seeking physiotherapy services | Website is up and running. Working with local web-hosting company. Applied for, but did not receive NGO grant. Secured some funding through a PT student club in the US | |
| Community outreach for prevention and management of injury and disability | Community outreach to children with disabilities and their families | One physiotherapist provided an educational session about developmental delay at her village’s Umuganda. She has seen an increase in pediatric referrals to the district hospital |
| Falls prevention programs for older adults | Not completed | |
| Physiotherapy intervention in fighting non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through sports and physical exercise in Gasabo district | Rwandan Association of Allied Health Professionals hosted an International Conference on NCDs | |
| Seven Rwandan physiotherapists presented at the conference. The conference chairperson is a physiotherapist | ||
| The AKR has organized healthy walks in Kigali City to raise awareness about NCDs. The walks conclude with stretching, during which physiotherapists discuss the importance of an active lifestyle | ||
| Improving standards of physiotherapy practice in Rwanda | Standardized physiotherapy assessment documentation | The PT departments at the University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB) and the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) are working on standardizing documentation, including outcome measures, to help with improved documentation of progress |
| Development and implementation of clinical guidelines in physiotherapy practice | The PT staff at CHUB is currently working on developing Rwanda-specific clinical guidelines for rehabilitation after shoulder and hip hemiarthroplasty surgeries | |
| Recommendations for setting up private practice | In June 2016, the RPTO sponsored a continuing professional development program about entrepreneurship, which was attended by 42 physiotherapists | |
| Prevention and management of workplace injury | Awareness of the role of physiotherapy for prevention and treatment of workplace injuries among public and private policymakers in Rwanda | Not completed |
| Postural education and ergonomics assessment | Several PTs mentioned difficulty with obtaining permission to perform these activities as a significant barrier to completion | |
| Appropriate ergonomics in the working environment: case study—Rwanda Military Hospital, administrative staff |