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Some Challenges Facing Neurorehabilitation in Nigeria: Standpoint of a Neurophysiotherapist

Talhatu K Hamzat

Neurorehabilitation is the process of ensuring that any person presenting with neurological deficit lives a meaningful, qualitative and prolonged life while restoring function as much as possible (Owolabi and Hamzat, 2011). It involves multidisciplinary and multidimensional therapies which entails process of assessment, treatment planning, goal setting, therapeutic intervention and evaluation of outcome. This team effort becomes fruitful with contributions from specialties of neuromedicine/neurosurgery, occupational therapy, (Hamzat, 2013) ergotherapy, speech and language therapy, psychotherapy, visual rehabilitation, audiological rehabilitation, sexual therapy, relaxation and music therapy (Owolabi and Hamzat, 2011). Many developing countries like Nigeria, do not have the benefits of professionals in many of the listed sub-specialties and as such patients needing comprehensive rehabilitation are unable to enjoy the services. Several factors from the obvious to the not-so obvious ones contribute to depriving patients the benefit of care and increasing the burden of neurorehabilitation in Nigeria. This submission is however delimited to three challenges, that of shortage of manpower, poor government policy and inter-professional rivalry–all from the prism of a neurophysiotherapist.