The current research seeks to examine the basic rehabilitation
services for elders with mobility impairment. The research relied upon a
quantitative approach and primary data which was gathered through the Drop-Off
and Pick-Up (DOPU) method. The targeted respondents of this study were made up
of healthcare workers, such as nurses and doctors from a group of hospitals in
Zimbabwe. Therapy, assistive technologies, rehabilitation medicine,
community-delivered rehabilitation were identified as the basic rehabilitation
services for elders with mobility impairment. To assess the effectiveness of
these services, the strength of these services had to be tested on the
successful implementation of rehabilitation programs using a Structural Equation
Model. In addition, these services were regarded as the independent variables
of this study; while the successful implementation of the rehabilitation
program was treated as a dependent variable. Based on the findings of this
study, therapy, assistive technologies, rehabilitation medicine,
community-delivered rehabilitation have a positive effect on the successful
implementation of a rehabilitation program. The study recommends that to
preserve the function and mobility among elderly and ageing individuals, the
healthcare practitioners should promote strategies such as maximizing function
by decreasing pain, improving the ability to self-propel and prolonging
mobility and endurance through ergonomics,
individualized wheelchair selection and configuration, and adaptations for
increasing the capacity to handle the daily mobility demands through training,
strengthening, and exercise.
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