Experience from Kenya -
Perpetua Omondi
When the first case of the COVID 19 was reported in Kenya on March 13th 2020, I was disappointed, scared, and confused. Why confused? As a School-Based Occupational Therapist, I was dealing with a new dilemma of all schools being closed indefinitely.
My down time was limited for just a few days. My optimism kicked in and I told myself “COVID will be in Kenya for just a few weeks, we just need to Stay Safe and Work from home then we are good to go back to normal”.
Immediately after this comment, a question popped in my head “How can a School-Based Occupational Therapist work from home?” I quickly dashed to my computer and started my journey of discovering how. I spent hours reading research papers, I joined several Facebook groups, I spoke with practitioners and clients.
By the end of the second week, I had a Eureka moment, I discovered I can work from home through Telehealth, a mode of service delivery that allows a therapist to offer services from a distance via technology devices. I went a step further and took a course on Telehealth to further understand this new model of service delivery.
After this I started another wonderful journey, conducting Telehealth sessions with my wonderful clients. Telehealth has such great benefits and here below are some I have experienced;
Convenience: I just need to be at my working space at a particular time, no staying in traffic, etc.
Further reach: I can reach clients from different parts of the country and even different countries. It also gives me the joy of reaching clients in the very remote areas of our Country. This would not have been possible with the onsite sessions.
Safety: I can Stay Safe and ensure I keep my clients safe. Through this, we flatten the curve.
Well, there are pros and cons as well. Here are the challenges I have experienced while offering Telehealth;
Technology challenges: On some days the internet and or the technological devices fail to work. Though with time I have gotten ways around this.
Stakeholders Buy-In: Since it is a new form of service delivery, much more investment is put in awareness to encourage stakeholder buy-in.
Conclusion
I have come to enjoy this journey. I have experienced great and fulfilling moments as a therapist. I feel much more valuable as an Occupational therapist and from what I’m seeing, I’m not stopping any time soon.
Perpetua Omondi
OTWB Africa Regional Director
Managing Director - Dynamic Occupational Therapy LTD