Community-Based Rehabilitation and Social Work Practice for Persons with Physical Disabilities in Ogun State

Community-based rehabilitation represents a rights-based model for improving the social participation, livelihoods, and healthcare access of persons with physical disabilities, with social work playing a critical facilitation and advocacy role. This study examines community-based rehabilitation practice and social work contributions to outcomes for persons with physical disabilities in Ogun State, South West Nigeria, focusing on rural and peri-urban communities in Ijebu North and Ota. An explanatory mixed-method design is employed, with a survey of 170 persons with physical disabilities and 22 qualitative interviews with social workers, physiotherapists, and community rehabilitation workers. Logistic regression and thematic analysis are applied. The study finds that social work-facilitated community-based rehabilitation, involving home visits, skills training coordination, peer support groups, and advocacy for environmental accessibility modifications, is associated with significantly improved social participation scores among participants. Challenges to programme effectiveness include inadequate rehabilitation funding, poor transportation infrastructure, and limited inter-sectoral coordination. Drawing on the social model of disability, the study argues that effective community-based rehabilitation must address environmental and attitudinal barriers alongside individual functioning limitations. Recommendations include investing in multidisciplinary community rehabilitation teams anchored by social workers, incorporating CBR principles into social work fieldwork curricula, and developing community accessibility standards. Keywords: community-based rehabilitation, physical disability, social work, Ogun State, social model of disability