Physiotherapy Services in Bahrain: Are We Ready to Deal with A Disaster?

Background: Mitigating disaster-related disability by medical response is well established, and physiotherapy has been considered in the medium- to longterm care plan of the affected people. Purpose: To explore the sufficiency of the physiotherapy services in the Kingdom of Bahrain to meet the demands and needs ofthe population health and during a disaster, and to examine the relationship between the currently specialized physiotherapists (PTs) and their ability to cope with the cases associated with a disaster. Methods: Public data from three different governmental entities were analyzed regarding the population demographics and the number and specialties of the PTs. A market survey was conducted to collect data about the specializations needs. Results: There are 1.7 PTs for every 10,000 persons, and only 8% of the licensed PTs are specialized in orthopedics, neurology and pediatrics. About 30% of the PT workforce are non-Bahraini. Conclusion: The number of PTs per 10,000 persons in Bahrain is below the world's average, and the current specializations of the licensed PTs may be insufficient to handle the complex cases of a disaster. Keywords: Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation, Disaster Response, Medical Response, Resilient Health Car