Sustainable and Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Services for Persons with Severe Disabilities in Binh Dinh and Quang Nam Provinces (HOLD MY HAND)

The project aimed to develop a sustainable and expandable model to support rehabilitation service provisions and improve social inclusion of 2,000 persons with severe disabilities. The project was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with a total value of US $1,993,592. The HMH project focused on two main objectives: 1) To deliver home-based care (HBC) for 600 persons with severe disabilities in Binh Dinh and Quang Nam provinces, and 2) To strengthen 10 interdisciplinary rehabilitation service units at provincial and district hospitals in Binh Dinh province. The project was structured and approved with a total of 19 milestones and project deliverables for three years. Despite facing challenges in obtaining government approval and the COVID-19 pandemic, the project achieved its objectives and targets. Key results include: almost 3,500 persons with disabilities received support from the project intervention, including 630 persons with severe disabilities who received direct HBC and 2,846 persons with disabilities who benefited from improved rehabilitation services and systems as a result of rehabilitation capacity building activities. The project also strengthened the capacity of rehabilitation service delivery, particularly in occupational therapy (OT) and speech therapy (ST), and expanded the provision of medical products and technologies. The project developed guidelines on standard operating procedures (SOP) for interdisciplinary rehabilitation services for persons with severe disabilities in Binh Dinh province. The project has learned several lessons, including the importance of social support and connection for enabling persons with disabilities to live independently and improve their quality of life, the necessity of using ICT tools and solutions in the context of COVID-19, and the importance of direct support to persons with disabilities being accompanied by healthcare and rehabilitation system strengthening. The project has achieved all targeted indicators, even exceeding some targets. The project has conducted need assessments for 3,759 persons with disabilities, examined 1,264 persons, provided home-based care to 630 persons, trained 1,008 family caregivers, care collaborators, and local care monitoring staff in basic care skills and advanced care, and provided referral support to 220 persons with disabilities. The project has also developed training materials for home-based care (HBC) for persons with severe disabilities, which include eight main parts covering 35 main skills divided into 42 lessons, structured along with 32 video clips on care skill instruction. The project has strengthened the capacity of rehabilitation with focus on OT and ST for 13 facilities in provincial and district levels and built capacity in GBV for 209 health staff from entire Binh Dinh and Thang Binh, Quang Nam. The project has successfully expanded collaborative partnerships with other USAID implementation partners, including MCNV and Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Hue UMP), to train health staff in occupational therapy (OT) and speech therapy (ST). The project has also managed to implement almost all of the planned activities despite facing challenges due to late project approval and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.