The growth of medical rehabilitation in developing countries is severely hindered by the shortage of formally trained rehabilitation professionals. For example, the People's Republic of China has fewer than 6,000 therapists that have received formal education and training in rehabilitation. The few programs that have been established are training fewer than 800 therapists a year. It is estimated that within the next ten years, over 300,000 therapists will be needed to meet China's growing demand for rehabilitation services.

We are working with our partners in China to address this need. The key is to establish more formal educational programs in major cities in China, and to provide a way for Western rehabilitation professionals to assist in the education and training of future generations of physicians, therapists, prosthetists, and other specialists.

We are looking for volunteers with rehabilitation experience in the following specialties:

• Exercise Physiology

• Healthcare Administration

• Kinesiotherapy

• Neurology

• Neuropsychology

• Neurosurgery

• Occupational Therapy

• Orthopedic Surgery

• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

• Physical Therapy

• Prosthetics/Orthotics

• Recreational/Art Therapy

• Rehabilitation Nursing

• Rheumatology

• Speech and Language Pathology

While some of our activities can only be completed outside the US, there are a number of activities that can be done here at home, including textbook reviews and translation, development of training materials, and web-enabled support for students training in other countries.

If you want to utilize your professional skills to further the spread of medical rehabilitation worldwide, please contact us at info@chenghealth.org