30 years CBR in China: four stages
1986 – 1990: piloting of CBR medical model in several urban sites in China, focus more on physical disabilities
1991 – 1996: health sector & China Disabled Persons Federation (CDPF): set up mechanisms to identify/refer PwD; 64 pilot projects; extending services to all people with disabilities: still mainly medical model
National Law to protect the rights of people with disabilities (1992/2008)
1997 – 2005: social approaches introduced; different sectors involved; social security regulations improved; community doctors assigned responsibilities for basic rehabilitation
gNational Goal: access to rehab for all by 2015h
states CBR strategy is essential
On analysis, looking at this concise history of CBR in China, it parallels the development of CBR internationally from medical model (providing rehabilitation therapy services to adults and children with physical disabilities in the home) to an increasingly comprehensive and holistic approach: getting people out of their beds/homes; working with people with all kinds of disabilities to support their active participation in daily activities, communit; changing the environment especially accessibility to services and provision of services). (consider also the ICF: environment is not just physical and social environment but also about policy change, insurance coverage, etc).
Most recently several rural projects have demonstrated successful inter-sectoral collaboration and mainstreaming of responsibilities, which happened because the policies were in place, and the CBR project made great efforts to ensure health and education sectors included PwD in their regular work.