Background: Many people with disability are living in developing countries, requiring short- and long-term rehabilitation services. These services are provided by various professionals and are very expensive. Community Based Rehabilitation was developed by World Health Organization to provide the basic rehabilitation services for those are living in remote and poor areas, not having access to hospitals and rehabilitation clinics.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) program on Quality of Life (QOL) of people with physical disability in rural areas of Bostanabad, Tabriz, Iran.
Patients and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical and comparative study, two groups of participants were selected as the case and control according to their living place. Participants in the case group included 48 people with physical disability, aged between 18 and 50 years old (Mean = 32, SD = 8.78) who lived in the villages covered by the CBR program. On the other hand, participants in the control group included 45 people with physical disability in the close-by villages not covered by the CBR program (Age between 18 and 50 years old; Mean = 33, SD = 9.98). People with other types of disabilities or multiple disabilities were excluded from the study. All participants in this study completed two questionnaires, including demographic and the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) to evaluate QOL. Data were analyzed using t-test for independent groups.
Results: Data were analyzed using SPSS software. The results demonstrated a significant difference in QOL between the two groups (P > 0.002). Participants in the CBR program group showed a higher level of QOL compared with the other group.
Conclusions: The results of this study show that applying CBR programs in the rural and remote areas can be effective in improving the QOL of people with physical disability.