Occupational therapy in low resource environment: reflections from Uganda

Participation in international health projects provides opportunities for further professional development of new knowledge, skills and behaviors through collaboration with international health care practitioners in low... [ view full abstract ]

Participation in international health projects provides opportunities for further professional development of new knowledge, skills and behaviors through collaboration with international health care practitioners in low resource environments (Kronenberg et al 2005).
In April 2015 group of eight multidiscipline healthcare professionals travelled to a hospital in South West Kisiizi Uganda. Our aim was to create a strategic, organized, accountable, responsible, flexible, resourceful and innovative healthcare partnership.
The following themes were identified based on reflection from the trip: sustainability, ethical dilemmas and Western ethos of occupational therapist.
Sustainability
The following sustainable projects were introduced:
1) culturally sensitive sensory programmes for the upper limb follow stoke.
2) Education for the importance of minding skin for spinal cord injury.
3) Mirror box therapy for amputees.

Ethical dilemmas
There is an ethical concerns about the lack of empirical evidence of the effectiveness or appropriateness, of such intervention in non-western society.

A huge amount of resources have been brought by Westerners to this hospital. Resources which are underutilised and not understood. Is this enabling or disabling by creating a supportive dependency on external aid?
Western Ethos of occupational therapist

As occupational therapist we strive to enable people to be as independent as possible by understanding who are patients are, who they were and who they want to become. Can we enable participation in occupations that we don't understand, in a culture we are not apart of?