Physical activity in rehabilitation practice: Policy, infrastructure and development perspectives

Background: Integrating physical activity (PA) into rehabilitation practice is critical for promoting patient recovery and high quality of life. However, policy gaps, infrastructure constraints and resource limitations often hinder its effective implementation, particularly in public health care set...

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Main Authors: Onika Makaula, Ntandoyenkosi L. Msomi, Andrew J. Ross
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2025-06-01
Series:South African Family Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/6137
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author Onika Makaula
Ntandoyenkosi L. Msomi
Andrew J. Ross
author_facet Onika Makaula
Ntandoyenkosi L. Msomi
Andrew J. Ross
author_sort Onika Makaula
collection DOAJ
description Background: Integrating physical activity (PA) into rehabilitation practice is critical for promoting patient recovery and high quality of life. However, policy gaps, infrastructure constraints and resource limitations often hinder its effective implementation, particularly in public health care settings. Methods: An inductive thematic analysis of virtual individual semi-structured interviews with therapists was conducted via NVivo. Participants (N = 10) shared insights on their perspectives of integrating PA into rehabilitation practices regarding policy, infrastructure and development. Results: Ten subthemes emerged related to policy (two subthemes), infrastructure (four subthemes) and development (four subthemes) of PA in rehabilitation practice. Conclusion: While PA is essential for holistic patient care, therapists face systemic barriers that require policy reforms, interprofessional collaboration and investment in resources and infrastructure. Creative strategies currently mitigate these challenges but remain limited in scope of practice. Contribution: This article documents the need for policy development and resource allocation to better integrate PA into rehabilitation, whilst addressing key developmental and infrastructure gaps.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2078-6190
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series South African Family Practice
spelling doaj-art-15bf8eaf712b4d5b872400b4249957cc2025-08-20T04:03:18ZengAOSISSouth African Family Practice2078-61902078-62042025-06-01671e1e810.4102/safp.v67i1.61374955Physical activity in rehabilitation practice: Policy, infrastructure and development perspectivesOnika Makaula0Ntandoyenkosi L. Msomi1Andrew J. Ross2Department of Public Health Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, DurbanDepartment of Family Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, DurbanDepartment of Family Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, DurbanBackground: Integrating physical activity (PA) into rehabilitation practice is critical for promoting patient recovery and high quality of life. However, policy gaps, infrastructure constraints and resource limitations often hinder its effective implementation, particularly in public health care settings. Methods: An inductive thematic analysis of virtual individual semi-structured interviews with therapists was conducted via NVivo. Participants (N = 10) shared insights on their perspectives of integrating PA into rehabilitation practices regarding policy, infrastructure and development. Results: Ten subthemes emerged related to policy (two subthemes), infrastructure (four subthemes) and development (four subthemes) of PA in rehabilitation practice. Conclusion: While PA is essential for holistic patient care, therapists face systemic barriers that require policy reforms, interprofessional collaboration and investment in resources and infrastructure. Creative strategies currently mitigate these challenges but remain limited in scope of practice. Contribution: This article documents the need for policy development and resource allocation to better integrate PA into rehabilitation, whilst addressing key developmental and infrastructure gaps.https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/6137physical activityinfrastructurerehabilitationpolicyoccupational therapyspeech-language therapydevelopment.
spellingShingle Onika Makaula
Ntandoyenkosi L. Msomi
Andrew J. Ross
Physical activity in rehabilitation practice: Policy, infrastructure and development perspectives
South African Family Practice
physical activity
infrastructure
rehabilitation
policy
occupational therapy
speech-language therapy
development.
title Physical activity in rehabilitation practice: Policy, infrastructure and development perspectives
title_full Physical activity in rehabilitation practice: Policy, infrastructure and development perspectives
title_fullStr Physical activity in rehabilitation practice: Policy, infrastructure and development perspectives
title_full_unstemmed Physical activity in rehabilitation practice: Policy, infrastructure and development perspectives
title_short Physical activity in rehabilitation practice: Policy, infrastructure and development perspectives
title_sort physical activity in rehabilitation practice policy infrastructure and development perspectives
topic physical activity
infrastructure
rehabilitation
policy
occupational therapy
speech-language therapy
development.
url https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/6137
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AT ntandoyenkosilmsomi physicalactivityinrehabilitationpracticepolicyinfrastructureanddevelopmentperspectives
AT andrewjross physicalactivityinrehabilitationpracticepolicyinfrastructureanddevelopmentperspectives