Lessons from the 2015 earthquake(s) in Nepal: implication for rehabilitation.
Abstract
PURPOSE: There has been an increase in the number of natural disasters in recent history,
and the rate of disability is increasing among survivors. The most recent major natural
disaster was the earthquake(s) that occurred in Nepal on 25 April 2015 and 12 May
2015. In total, more than 8500 people were killed and over 18,500 people were left
injured. This article aims to demonstrate the role of rehabilitation professionals
in post-disaster relief and beyond in Nepal. METHOD: This is an experiential account
of physiotherapists present during the earthquake and participating in the post-disaster
relief. RESULTS: Rehabilitation professionals played an important role in the acute
phase post-disaster by providing essential services and equipment. However, discharge
planning emerged as an important role for rehabilitation providers in the early days
of post-disaster and signaled a relatively new and innovative function that facilitated
the heavy imbalance between little supply and tremendous demand for care. In the coming
years, rehabilitation will need to support local initiatives that focus on minimizing
the long-term effects among people with a newly acquired disability. CONCLUSIONS:
Rehabilitation serves an important role across the continuum in post-disaster relief
from the initial stages to the months and years following an event. IMPLICATIONS FOR
REHABILITATION: Driven by medical advances in acute field medicine, the relative proportion
of casualties following natural disasters is decreasing, while relative rates of disability
are rising among survivors. In post-disaster settings, the growing number of people
with newly acquired disabilities will be added to the existing proportion of the population
who lived with disabilities, creating a significant growth in the total number of
people with disabilities (PWDs) in communities that are often ill prepared to provide
necessary services. Rehabilitation interventions in the initial stages of emergency
humanitarian response can minimize the long-term effects among people with newly acquired
disabilities through early activation and prevention of secondary effects. Rehabilitation
providers thus appear to have an important mediating effect on outcomes of disabilities
in the early stages, but must also be strong partners with PWDs to advocate for social
and political change in the long term.
Type
Journal articleSubject
DisabilityNepal
earthquake
rehabilitation
Attitude of Health Personnel
Disabled Persons
Disaster Planning
Disasters
Earthquakes
Humans
Needs Assessment
Nepal
Physical Therapists
Rehabilitation
Relief Work
Survivors
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/12044Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.3109/09638288.2015.1064482Publication Info
Sheppard, Phillip S; & Landry, Michel D (2016). Lessons from the 2015 earthquake(s) in Nepal: implication for rehabilitation. Disabil Rehabil, 38(9). pp. 910-913. 10.3109/09638288.2015.1064482. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/12044.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Michel Daniel Landry
Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery
Dr. Landry is a health policy and health services researcher, and global health practitioner.
His area of current exploration is the interface between available supply (financial
and human resources) and increasing demand for health and rehabilitation services
across the continuum of care within the United States, Canada, and the global community.

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