An older man, post-stroke on a raised bed to aid mobility
MANILA - In taking forward WHO's Global Disability Action Plan 2014–2021, the WHO Collaborating Centre in Health Workforce Development in Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care at University of Sydney, Australia has assisted WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific to establish a regional baseline on disability inclusive health, habilitation and rehabilitation services including community-based rehabilitation and assistive technologies.
Work on a survey tool to conduct the baseline assessment, began in 2013, following release of a draft WHO global disability action plan 2014–2021: Better health for all people with disability. The WHO Collaborating Centre worked with WHO Regional Office to develop the Western Pacific Region Disability Inclusive Health and Rehabilitation Tool. The tool would facilitate data collection to map capacity in health services for people with disabilities across the Region. This mapping would be foundational to measure progress against objectives of WHO's Global Disability Action Plan 2014–2021.
Extensive review consultations were convened in developing the tool, drawing on expertise across different technical teams in WHO's Regional Office to ensure the best approach for a baseline survey with data alignment to other WHO sources. The tool was refined and workshopped at regional meetings to ensure the most appropriate content, expression, layout and formatting and process for distribution and completion.
In 2015, the tool was piloted and then distributed to all Member States in the Western Pacific Region. Survey results were collected, collated, discussed and presented from October 2015, with a final report due at the end of 2016.