Inclusion, Participation & Empowerment of People with Disabilities

International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) World Congress
February 4 – 7, 2013
From the Field: Hyderabad, India
Written by: Mary Kwasniewski

Delegates from 84 countries gathered this week in Hyderabad India for the 14th International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) World Congress to share ideas and collaborate in the multidisciplinary field of rehabilitation. Yesterday, while at the conference, we heard about all of the rehabilitative work going on in Latin America, Nepal, India and Malaysia, just to name a few.

Gail Grisetti: Presenting on Technology Assisted Evaluation to Improve Outcomes of Technician Training

This week, two Physicians for Peace volunteers, whom we call our International Medical Educators, and I will represent work from Physicians for Peace’s Walking Free Program. Our Walking Free Program is a training initiative, started in the year 2000, that takes a multidisciplinary approach to build the capacity of local prosthetic and orthotic clinics and train healthcare professionals in countries with limited resources. The themes of this World Congress are Inclusion, Participation and Empowerment. Bringing partners together from around the world is just the start of the work ahead to bring awareness to the needs of disabled populations and work together to return them to full mobility and productivity.

Below is the list of topics our Physicians for Peace team will be presenting while at the ISPO World Congress in Hyderabad:

• Panel Presentation: Haiti 2010 Earthquake: Lessons Learned after 3 years

• Poster Presentation: Technology Assisted Evaluation to Improve Outcomes of a Technician Training: Program in the Dominican Republic

• Paper Presentation: The Hispaniola Island Prosthetic and Orthotic Education Program (HIPOE) – An Overview