Perspective on Community Health Workers and Physical Therapy: Partnership and Capacity Building

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About the Webinar

In the context of low-income settings with a disproportionate prevalence of noncommunicable disease and limited resources, we find both challenges and opportunities for delivery of equitable rehabilitation care. Malawi has 0.8 physical therapists per 100,000 people as compared to 1,350 per 100,000 people in high-income countries. Therefore, the role of community health workers is critical for access to rehabilitation care.

A case example of community health workers partnering with a physical therapist to provide rehabilitation care at St. Gabriel’s Hospital in rural Malawi will be presented. This session will provide the participant with insight into the role of community health workers in community-based rehabilitation, the role of physical therapists, stakeholders’ perspectives on partnership building, and ways that health systems evolve to provide more equitable rehabilitation care. 

Objectives: 
• Understand the role of community health workers in community-based rehabilitation in a resource limited setting
• Understand the challenges and opportunities for physical therapists in a resource limited setting
• Appreciate stakeholders’ perspectives on partnership and capacity building
• Identify ways health systems evolve to provide more equitable rehabilitation care in a resource limited setting

About the Speaker: Casey Nesbit, PT, DPT, DSc

Dr. Casey Nesbit received her BS in Physical Therapy from Virginia Commonwealth University, MS and DSc in Rehabilitation Sciences from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, and DPT from Marymount University. She is a board certified Pediatric Clinical Specialist with 35 years of experience. Her clinical experience includes part time work over the past 14 years in Malawi, Africa.  Since 2017, she has been an assistant professor at UCSF/SFSU. Her research interests include valuation of disability in developing countries, health equity, clinical reasoning and effectiveness of training programs in the developing world.