Abstract:
This was a qualitative study focused on access to rehabilitation services for persons with physical
disabilities at the Salvation Army Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Training Center at Agona-
Duakwa in the Central Region of Ghana. Data was collected and analyzed thematically with the
use of document scrutiny which enabled for data triangulation during the analysis process. Results
indicated that persons with physical disabilities had three main types of access to the Center which
are, physical, service and personnel access which made their rehabilitation sessions meaningful.
Also persons with physical disabilities felt their aptitudes and interest were determining factors in
the rehabilitation process. The results revealed interestingly that persons with disabilities felt their
service providers should take the lead in decisions that concern their rehabilitation process as such
they had very little to say on how services they received could be improved. Prominent among
their challenges was finance, as most of the persons were now involved in vocational training for
independent living. The study recommends that the management of the Salvation Army
Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Training Center need to organize regular in-service training for all
their staff involved in the provision of rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities. The
training should include new strategies for service provision, collaboration and strategies for fund
raising. This would in the long run improve service delivery, address the issue of funds and foster
stronger relationships between the Center and other organizations. The Center with the help of the
Ministry of Health should employ more staff to address the issue of long waiting times and the
issue of staff-patient-ratio. This will enable the service providers render better services and
improve on the overall quality of the service delivery process.
Description:
A Thesis in the Department of SPECIAL EDUCATION Faculty of EDUCATIONAL
STUDIES submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, University of Education, Winneba
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for award of the Master of Philosophy SPECIAL
EDUCATION degree.
MAY, 2017