Community-Based Health and Rehabilitation 2022

INTRODUCTION

Caring for someone with a disability, whether a child or an adult, combining personal, caregiving, and everyday needs can be challenging. Especially with children, it is usually the family members who assume the role of a caregiver and often experience the caregiver burden. Involvement of family caregivers is essential for optimal treatment of cancer patients in ensuring treatment compliance, continuity of care, and social support, particularly at the end of life. Parents of children diagnosed with cancer often put their feelings or own needs aside while caring for their child. Over time, this can be hard to maintain and is not good for their health. Stress can have both physical and psychological effects. If they don’t take care of themselves, they won’t be able to take care of others. Being a caregiver, it is important that you take good care of yourself as well.

Community-Based Rehabilitation is a community development strategy that aims at enhancing the lives of persons with disabilities (PWDs) within the community. Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) was initiated by WHO following the Declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978 in an effort to enhance the quality of life for people with disabilities and their families; meet their basic needs; and ensure their inclusion and participation. It is also initially a strategy to increase access to rehabilitation services in resource-constrained settings.

According to the CBR Africa Network (CAN) CBR is now a multi-sectoral approach working to improve the equalization of opportunities and social inclusion of people with disabilities while combating the perpetual cycle of poverty and disability. CBR is implemented through the combined efforts of people with disabilities, their families and communities, and relevant government and non-government health, education, vocational, social and other services(WHO). It facilitates both their access to and participation, as both consumers and providers in appropriate health, education, social, vocational and other services.

Wellness is more than being free from an illness, it is the spirited process of change and growth that could last for a lifetime. It addresses the body's overall balance of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Wellness is important because it does not only affect you as an individual but it can also affect the people around you. The Wellness Seminar is a seminar program designed to teach E-HOPE staff members about how they can improve health and wellness in the center. This program will help the E-Hope parents and staff members to be equipped and geared when dealing with their child and patients in the center when addressing certain concerns. With this, parents will be able to freely express their concerns to the E-Hope staff members as well as to build relationships between parents and staff. This relationship- building can also be a crucial part of the participation of the parents.

Following the Alma-Ata Declaration in 1978, the World Health Organization (WHO) pioneered community-based rehabilitation (CBR). It was viewed as a strategy for increasing access to rehabilitation services for people with disabilities in low and middle-income countries by making the best use of local resources. However, through collaboration with other United Nations (UN) organizations, non-governmental organizations, and disabled people's organizations over the last 30 years, its scope has significantly expanded. CBR has evolved into a multifaceted strategy for meeting the broader needs of people with disabilities, ensuring their participation and inclusion in society, and improving their quality of life. (WHO, 2010).

In the past, rehabilitation in the Philippines was based on the Western model, with an emphasis on hospital departments located in major cities. Because 70 percent of the population lives in rural areas, this approach is inappropriate for the majority of disabled people in the Republic. A community-based program was developed with the help of local volunteers who had received basic training. These volunteers can identify and assist disabled people in their own communities, avoiding long distances and costly institutional care.

CBR MATRIX

A CBR matrix serves as the common framework for CBR programmes. The matrix is made up of five key components, namely health, education, livelihood, social and empowerment components, where each are further divided into five elements. The first four elements are related to key development sectors, illustrating CBR's multifaceted approach. The fourth component is the empowerment of individuals with disabilities, their families, and communities, which is critical for ensuring access to all development sectors and improving people with disabilities' quality of life and enjoyment of human rights. CBR programs are not expected to implement all of the CBR matrix's components and elements. Instead, the matrix is set up so that programs can choose the options that best suit their local needs, objectives, and resources.

ROLE OF OT IN CBH&R

An occupational therapists’ role is to provide purposeful and goal-oriented activities through a number of programs in hopes to educate and enhance the lives of those within the community. The 3rd year Occupational Therapy students of Velez College chose the children and caregivers of the Everlasting Hope Organization located in Banawa, Cebu City. The programs implemented will cover the three components such as: Health, Education, and Livelihood; for the members of the community to further enhance their quality of life, increase medical awareness, and create opportunities.

The three CBH-R programs implemented will help the community through the following:

To empower the caregivers of the children with cancer of E-Hope with the resources and information they need in tending care for the children as well as for themselves.
To teach the children of E-Hope appropriate psychosocial and physiological management strategies through the use of play.
To provide access to the parents and caregivers of E-hope training opportunities in basic business skills, business development and financial services to support their self-employment pursuits.

PROGRAMS

Play to Cope, Learn to Cope

It's the Tote that Counts

Caregiver and Family Support Seminar

Everlasting Hope

Everlasting Hope (E-Hope) is a non-government organization licensed and registered with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Cebu City, Philippines. The organization was created in hopes to reach children with cancer and their families so as to facilitate emotional and spiritual care, provide access to medical resources and a temporary shelter for the child and their family or caregiver while acquiring treatment in Cebu.

The organization advocates for children and families by coordinating healthcare services and connecting them to various agencies, organizations, and medical teams. Other services include a temporary shelter program to provide shelter when they go through treatment, and transportation services to aid in going to and from provinces or hospitals. They also provide financial support to the families to help supplement their relatively high medical expenses by supplying medicines, medical supplies, and financial support with hospital bills and laboratory expenses. Emotional and spiritual care, home and hospital visitation, Grant-a-Wish programs and burial and bereavement services are also given on top of the other programs aforementioned.

COMMUNITY DIAGNOSIS AND CHARACTERISTIC

The organization assists children with cancer and their families with financial, material, and, most importantly, emotional support as they undergo cancer treatment. The organization's key objective was to provide medical treatment to impoverished children with cancer while also allowing the unspoken needs of their families to be noticed by the greater community. Everlasting HOPE is now sheltering 8 families, but may accommodate up to 15 in the future. The organization's management team is passionate about what they do, and their relationships with the children and their families are strong. Because the organization homes the children and their families while they are receiving therapy, it is easier for them to participate in the activities offered by the organization.

TYPOLOGY

Everlasting HOPE is a non-government organization (NGO), licensed and registered with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), reaching children with cancer coming from Cebu, Philippines and nearby islands of Cebu. The organization strives to help children living with cancer and their families have access to quality medical care, provide socioemotional and spiritual support, and lastly a home and family whilst receiving treatment in the Metro. To elaborate, they provide temporary shelter for families traveling outside Cebu City for medical treatments, transportation to treatment appointments, home visits, expressive therapy, non-formal education, family outreach events, emotional and spiritual care, individual counseling, support groups, burial and bereavement services and livelihood projects. Although the families came from different backgrounds, they find comfort in sharing the same experiences. Furthermore, the staff treat the parents and the children as their family. E-HOPE Cebu has affiliated agencies such as DSWD and receives programs from volunteering NGOs.

In summary, identity is exhibited in the community as the parents, and children feel a sense of belongingness in the organization. Cohesion and integration are also evident as programs such as support groups, devotion, expressive therapy are participated by the children and families together. Lastly, a strong linkage is seen in E-HOPE with their affiliated communities and agencies such as DSWD, local and international NGOs.

To know more about Everlasting Hope Center, you may click here or scan the QR code to redirect you to the website.

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