Table 2 Summary of the service delivery results
Title | Aims | Country | Disaster | Type of study | Participant group | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philippine academy of rehabilitation medicine emergency basic relief and medical aid mission project (November 2013-february 2014): The role of physiatrists in super typhoon Haiyan [3] | To describe the emergency basic relief and medical aid missions performed by physiatrists in response to Super Typhoon Haiyan | Philippines | 2013 typhoon Haiyan | Case report | Unknown number of rehabilitation doctors | Besides providing medical care, physiatrists functioned as mission team leaders, as community advocates, and other roles. Services included free consultation and treatment; medicines, and wound care supplies to 7255 patients, which included non-disaster related care |
Physical rehabilitation in the context of a landslide that occurred in Brazil [30] | To investigate the challenges in delivering rehabilitation to those injures in the 2011 landslide disaster | Brazil | 2011 landslide | Cross-sectional mixed method study | 2326 hospital records and 27 interviews with 11 victims and 16 health professionals | Most rehabilitation services didn’t identify a surge in demand post disaster, despite knowing demand existed. This was thought to be because the need was repressed by competing personal needs, financial constraints to pay for rehabilitation and transport, and lack of access and awareness of rehabilitation services, meaning referrals weren’t made |
The outcomes and impact of a Post-Earthquake Rehabilitation Program in China: A Qualitative Study [31] | To analyze the outcomes and implications for a large-scale, community based, post-earthquake rehabilitation program in Sichuan, China after the program had been operational for 5Â years | China | 2008 Sichuan earthquake | Embedded qualitative case study | 1,471 people who received rehabilitation services between July 2008 and June 2013 | 75.4% patients sustained injuries related in the earthquake, and the remaining 24.54% were non-earth-quake victims. 88.06% of service users felt the programed helped them achieve their goals. The program achieved favorable results in enhancing functional independence in activities of daily living, physical status and psychosocial well-being of the service users. The program has been transferred to the local partner, with some changes |
Mobility, prosthesis use and health related quality of life of bilateral lower limb amputees from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake [32] | To report the rehabilitation outcomes (mobility, prosthesis use and quality of life) of bilateral lower limb amputees from the Sichuan Earthquake | China | 2008 Sichuan earthquake | Observational cross sectional | 17 bilateral lower limb amputees sustained in the earthquake | Results suggested that amputation level and knee joint salvage, prosthesis use and exercise were associated with better rehabilitation outcomes including mobility, adjustment and quality of life 9 amputees (52.9%) used wheel chairs, 2 (11.8%) used crutches,2 (11.8%) used walking sticks and 4 (23.5%) were unaided walkers |
Morbidity pattern and impact of rehabilitative services in earthquake victims of Kashmir, India [33] | To know the nature of the injuries, magnitude of disability, rehabilitative services provided, and service satisfaction | India | 2005 Kashmir earthquake | Retrospective observational study | 266 earthquake injured patients needed surgical intervention | 12.33% of patients had spinal injuries and 32% of all those injured received assistive products, with 90% still in use at 1Â year follow up. 97% of patients felt rehabilitation services were beneficial |
Epidemiology and the impact of early rehabilitation of spinal trauma after the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, India [34] | To describe the epidemiology of spinal injury in the Kashmir Earthquake and to analyse the impact of 15Â days of rehabilitation | India | 2005 Kashmir earthquake | Descriptive observational case report | 38 spinal cord injury patients | Provision of free assistive devices was the main rehabilitation intervention to prevent further spinal injuries. Psychotherapy and physiotherapy is important to maintain joint range and prevent contracture, and was deemed beneficial in the sample. 15Â days of rehabilitation is not enough |
Developing a trauma critical care and rehabilitation hospital in Haiti: A year after the earthquake [35] | To describe project Medishare which provides rehabilitation services and training to Haitian healthcare professionals | Haiti | 2010 earthquake | Descriptive observational case report | NA | Daily patient care has been managed by Haitian medical staff as well as more than 2,400 international volunteers Efforts continue for building workforce capacity, and the priority is training and education of the workforce |
Amputations of limbs during the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan: A firsthand experience of the author [36] | To audit the incidence of amputations of limbs in the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and their rehabilitation management | Pakistan | 2005 earthquake | Retrospective descriptive study | 112 patients with amputations of upper and lower limbs | Amputations accounted for 0.9% of total injuries and needed immediate rehabilitation for physical, psychological and occupational challenges which included prosthetic limb fittings |
2017 Bangladesh landslides: physical rehabilitation perspective [37] | To describe the impact on the population affected by the 2017 landslides in south-eastern Bangladesh | Bangladesh | 2017 landslide | Observational | Landslide survivors | Rehabilitation for traumatic injuries was limited due to a lack of staff trained in rehabilitation. Rehabilitation capacity building requires significant cooperation between academic medical institutions and other emergency response stakeholders |
The NHV rehabilitation services program improves long-term physical functioning in survivors of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake: A longitudinal quasi experiment [6] | To quantify the effectiveness of the NHV rehabilitation program as measured by the function of earthquake survivors | China | 2008 Sichuan earthquake | A longitudinal quasi–experimental design with an intervention group and control group | 510 earthquake survivors | The NHV rehabilitation services significantly improved estimated Barthel index in both the early and late intervention groups compared to controls, demonstrating benefit from rehabilitation delivered nearly 1.5 years after injury |
Functional outcomes and health-related quality of life in fracture victims 27 months after the Sichuan earthquake [38] | To evaluate functional outcomes, health-related quality of life and life satisfaction in fracture victims 27Â months after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake | China | 2008 Sichuan earthquake | A cross-sectional quasi-experimental study with 2 intervention groups and a control group | 390 fracture victims divided into early or late intervention groups, or a routine care control group | Activities of daily living and life satisfaction in the intervention groups were significantly improved compared to the control group |
Continuous post-disaster physical rehabilitation: a qualitative study on barriers and opportunities in Iran [39] | To outline the barriers and opportunities of disaster rehabilitation services in Iran | Iran | 2003 Bam and 2012 Varzaghan earthquake | Observational | 16 rehabilitation service providers, users and administration in the affected area of the two earthquakes | The main barriers to delivering disaster rehabilitation were found to be: decision makers low knowledge of rehabilitation, a lack of an effective responsible body; weak disaster-related competencies; and under-prioritization by government. Distribution of assistive devices was critical in affected areas Rehabilitation specialists could play a role in triage and proper immobilization of injured limbs |
Evaluation of functional outcomes of physical rehabilitation and medical complications in spinal cord injury victims of the Sichuan earthquake [40] | To characterize spinal cord injuries from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and evaluate their functional outcomes following rehabilitation | China | 2008 Sichuan earthquake | A prospective observational cohort study | 51 spinal cord injured earthquake victims from 3 hospitals | Ambulation, wheelchair mobility and ADL were significantly improved with rehabilitation. 35.3% of patients achieved at least moderate activity of daily living independence and 90.2% regained some self-care ability prior to discharge. The group that began rehabilitation more than 3Â months after the earthquake did not show significant functional improvement |
Responding to the health and rehabilitation needs of people with disabilities post-Haiyan [41] | To describe the activities to increase access to rehabilitation for people with disabilities and with injuries post-Haiyan | Philippines | 2014 typhoon Haiyan | Descriptive field investigation report | 2998 individuals needing rehabilitation and assistive devices | 50 prostheses and 320 mobility aids were provided to people with new injuries or pre-existing disabilities. Having detailed pre-disaster data of estimations and profiles of people with disabilities would have improved the response |
Factors affecting functional outcome of Sichuan earthquake survivors with tibial shaft fractures: a follow-up study [42] | To analyse the functional recovery of earthquake survivors with tibial shaft fractures in Sichuan, China | China | 2008 Sichuan earthquake | Observational | 174 ambulatory earthquake survivors with tibia shaft fractures | Functional recovery was positively associated with rehabilitation intervention (odds ratio 5.3 (95% confidence interval 2.38–11.67) |