Empowering Primary Care with the World Health Organization’s Basic Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation: Developing a List of Interventions and a Clinical Resource

Empowering Primary Care with the World Health Organization’s Basic Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation: Developing a List of Interventions and a Clinical Resource | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Empowering Primary Care with the World Health Organization’s Basic Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation: Developing a List of Interventions and a Clinical Resource Abena Tannor, Dima Touhami, Antony Duttine, Alexandra Rauch, Pauline Kleinitz, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5607651/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 15 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Primary health care (PHC) is crucial for achieving universal health coverage (UHC) and meeting health-related sustainable development goals, particularly in low resource settings. Rehabilitation, defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as interventions designed to optimize functioning in individuals with health conditions in interaction with their environment, is a critical component of UHC that targets functioning needs. Despite its importance, access to rehabilitation services remains limited, particularly in primary care (PC) and low resource settings. To address this gap, the WHO developed the Basic Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation (Basic PIR), a toolkit designed to empower PC non-rehabilitation workers to deliver a prioritized set of easy, safe and effective interventions for rehabilitation through task-sharing. The objective of this article is to describe the participatory development process of the WHO’s Basic PIR, with a focus on the list of interventions and the clinical resource. Methods The development of the Basic PIR followed a three-phase methodology. Phase 1 identified the interventions for rehabilitation in PC settings. Phase 2 defined the core structure and content of the Basic PIR clinical resource. Phase 3 included preliminary field tests in selected countries, followed by reviews to evaluate and refine the prototype Basic PIR clinical resource. This participatory process, overseen by the WHO Rehabilitation Programme ensured the Basic PIR was tailored for use in PC and low-resource settings. Results In Phase 1, thirteen functioning domains related to health conditions were identified, leading to the preselection of 188 out of 297 interventions for rehabilitation from the WHO’s Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation (PIR), with 71 interventions ultimately included in the Basic PIR. Phase 2 involved creating the prototype, detailing the functioning domains with targets and corresponding interventions. In Phase 3, feedback from preliminary field tests in Ghana and Fiji, along with reviews, led to modifications, including revising rehabilitation steps and developing patient handouts. Conclusion By prioritizing patient-centered care and emphasizing functioning, the Basic PIR aims to improve access to rehabilitation services in PC and low resource settings, contributing to the achievement of UHC. Future pilot studies will evaluate its feasibility and acceptability, guiding its broader implementation. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementaryfile1.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 19 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 03 Mar, 2025 Reviews received at journal 26 Feb, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Feb, 2025 Reviews received at journal 19 Feb, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Feb, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Feb, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 Feb, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Feb, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Feb, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 05 Feb, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 16 Jan, 2025 Editor invited by journal 16 Dec, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 16 Dec, 2024 First submitted to journal 16 Dec, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Rehabilitation, defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as interventions designed to optimize functioning in individuals with health conditions in interaction with their environment, is a critical component of UHC that targets functioning needs. Despite its importance, access to rehabilitation services remains limited, particularly in primary care (PC) and low resource settings. To address this gap, the WHO developed the Basic Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation (Basic PIR), a toolkit designed to empower PC non-rehabilitation workers to deliver a prioritized set of easy, safe and effective interventions for rehabilitation through task-sharing. The objective of this article is to describe the participatory development process of the WHO’s Basic PIR, with a focus on the list of interventions and the clinical resource.\nMethods\nThe development of the Basic PIR followed a three-phase methodology. Phase 1 identified the interventions for rehabilitation in PC settings. Phase 2 defined the core structure and content of the Basic PIR clinical resource. Phase 3 included preliminary field tests in selected countries, followed by reviews to evaluate and refine the prototype Basic PIR clinical resource. This participatory process, overseen by the WHO Rehabilitation Programme ensured the Basic PIR was tailored for use in PC and low-resource settings.\nResults\nIn Phase 1, thirteen functioning domains related to health conditions were identified, leading to the preselection of 188 out of 297 interventions for rehabilitation from the WHO’s Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation (PIR), with 71 interventions ultimately included in the Basic PIR. Phase 2 involved creating the prototype, detailing the functioning domains with targets and corresponding interventions. In Phase 3, feedback from preliminary field tests in Ghana and Fiji, along with reviews, led to modifications, including revising rehabilitation steps and developing patient handouts.\nConclusion\nBy prioritizing patient-centered care and emphasizing functioning, the Basic PIR aims to improve access to rehabilitation services in PC and low resource settings, contributing to the achievement of UHC. Future pilot studies will evaluate its feasibility and acceptability, guiding its broader implementation.","manuscriptTitle":"Empowering Primary Care with the World Health Organization’s Basic Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation: Developing a List of Interventions and a Clinical Resource","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-03-05 17:57:10","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5607651/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-08-19T16:32:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-03-03T13:32:14+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-02-26T17:49:03+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"68733618028653816135465341125872816709","date":"2025-02-21T15:01:09+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-02-20T04:03:55+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"207600624670208076012511314979597371931","date":"2025-02-14T14:10:05+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"18533716039078797903054358743030798645","date":"2025-02-14T05:02:19+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-02-11T08:07:27+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"129849107696591108534673171509809904480","date":"2025-02-06T06:09:14+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"9552108925089805341087509508059805616","date":"2025-02-05T16:57:28+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-02-05T16:30:03+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-01-16T07:04:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2024-12-16T08:34:36+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-12-16T07:59:27+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Primary Care","date":"2024-12-16T07:58:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-primary-care","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"famp","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Primary Care](https://bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://author-welcome.nature.com/12875","title":"BMC Primary Care","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"a4efc165-5045-46ee-9721-9d93d40a6a40","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 5th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-18T14:38:15+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-03-05 17:57:10","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5607651","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5607651","identity":"rs-5607651","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}