Who we are
We are a group of Chinese and Canadian clinicians aware of the very important needs for rehabilitation services in China. We are highly motivated to find workable solutions for increasingly acute needs for rehabilitation services. Canada shares the same needs for rehabilitation services as does China for the same reason; the Canadian population is ageing rapidly.
We are aware that Canada has the benefitted from a strong tradition in rehabilitation medicine dating back to the fist world war when therapists begin to offer care for wounded soldiers. As a result, Canada has a vibrant community of rehabilitation specialists whose practice is deeply rooted in the Canadian healthcare system and rehabilitation services are integrated into both the hospital and community services. We want to transfer that knowledge and experience to the clinicians of Hangzhou for the benefit of their clients.
What we do
Our organization is devoted to information exchange on best practices in rehabilitation. Based in Hangzhou, with offices in Canada, we organize:
1) A monthly series of short courses for Chinese Clinicians,
2) Training experiences for Canadian physiotherapy students in Hangzhou hospitals and
3) Distance consultations for Hangzhou clinicians with Canadian experts.
Our activities
We strive to offer education and training to practicing clinicians. Thus, our course offerings are designed :
1) to reach busy professionals who have other responsibilities
2) to offer training that is focussed on techniques and services likely to have an immediate impact upon the clients of those being trained
3) to offer modern, scientifically based interventions that have been shown to produce results elsewhere. The certification accorded the graduating students acknowledges that the faculty offering the courses meets international standards established by the World Federation of Physical Therapy.
Our Clients
1) Doctors who want to know the theory and advantages of rehabilitation so that they will know when and how to prescribe rehabilitation services.
2) Nurses who want to know what practical use they can obtain from rehabilitation strategies. They will learn when they should request or recommend rehabilitation services and what benefits their patients can obtain from rehabilitation procedures.
3) Other healthcare workers may wish to practice rehabilitation strategies on the patients in their care. They want to know the techniques required to apply rehabilitation therapies to their own patients.
Our value proposition
The need being fulfilled – Information about the usefulness and applicability of rehabilitation therapies is not available in China. Our program provides that information in a format convenient for the practicing clinician – a short course on the weekend or over a one-week session. There is an awareness that such therapies exist, but they are not routinely taught in universities offering healthcare courses. Thus, we fill that void with:
1) Convenience – the courses are organized to interfere only minimally with the work schedule of the client.
2) Credibility – the courses are given by qualified experts known internationally for their expertise.
3)Certification – those who finish the course are awarded an attractive certificate attesting to the completion of training in rehabilitation sciences.
The Challenge before us
China is home to one of the world’s largest populations and that population is aging rapidly. By 2030, 65.6 percent of the Chinese health burden is projected to be borne by older adults, a population with high levels of noncommunicable diseases. Smoking (26 percent) and inadequate physical activity (10 percent) are highly prevalent. Health policy and interventions informed by appropriate data will be needed to avert this burden. China became an aging society at the end of the 20th century. The ever-growing medical demands of the elderly, the lag in medical insurance policy, and the late development of geriatric services make the present situation of public health in China worrying. Rehabilitation therapies have a role to play in reducing this burden. In aging societies, therapies that keep people active and maintain an independent lifestyle in the individual’s own communities can dramatically reduce the societal healthcare burden. Rehabilitation therapies focus on this priority and have taken an increasingly important role in those societies confronting the demographics of ageing. The realisation of the important role to
be played by rehabilitation sciences and therapeutic interventions is only now beginning to be understood in China.
The World Confederation of Physical Therapy reports that after the opening of several training programs in Physical therapy during the 1990’s, there are now 9 physical therapy training programs in China. The World Federation accredited two of these programs in June of 2018, acknowledging that those programs are training physical therapists to international standards for the practice of physical therapy. It is certain that more accreditations will follow in the coming years. However, it is also clear that the need for rehabilitation services will grow much faster than the present rate of development of trained Chinese physical therapists. The horizon of 2030 is only 11 years away and the health care burden of the aging population is already a large proportion of the total health care costs of the Chinses society. If these issues confronting the Chinese government and its ageing population are to be addressed effectively, there is need for many more clinicians to be trained and become knowledgeable about the clinical applications of rehabilitation interventions as part of their clinical repertoire.
There is an important need for a means to offer training programs to practicing clinicians that will prepare them to better serve their clients with new tools and new knowledge. The shared objective is the maintenance of a high quality of life and the preservation of an independent living for the elderly. Rehabilitation services that improve the quality of life fore the elderly will also reduce the burden of chronic disease for Chinese society.