“It Is an Eye-Opener That There Is a Relationship between Rehabilitation and HIV”: Perspectives of Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists in Kenya and Zambia on the Role of Rehabilitation with Adults and Children Living with HIV

Purpose: To present the perspectives of rehabilitation providers-physiotherapists and occupational therapists-in Kenya and Zambia on the role of rehabilitation in the care of adults and children living with HIV. Methods: This qualitative, interpretivist study was part of a broader project to adapt a Canadian e-module on HIV-related disability for rehabilitation providers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Focus groups, demographic questionnaires, and knowledge-attitude-belief surveys were conducted with rehabilitation providers in Kenya and Zambia. Focus group data were analyzed inductively using an iterative content analysis. Results: Sixty-three rehabilitation providers (52 physiotherapists, 11 occupational therapists) participated in 10 focus groups in Nyanza Province, Kenya, and Lusaka, Zambia. The participants described the role of rehabilitation in HIV care in terms of missed opportunities related to (1) HIV disclosure; (2) inter-professional and inter-sectoral collaboration; (3) community-based rehabilitation; (4) training for rehabilitation providers; (5) pediatric rehabilitation; and (6) the connections among disability, HIV, and poverty. Conclusions: The results point to the need for HIV policy and practice leaders to develop new models of care that recognize the crucial role of rehabilitation in the long-term management of HIV to address the shifting needs of the 25 million people living longer with HIV in SSA.