In a global sense, community-based rehabilitation (CBR) is the primary means by which disabled people in most countries of the world have any access to rehabilitation or disability services (Evans, Zinkin, Harpham, & Chaudury, 2001). CBR exists in an array of styles and approaches across developing and economically developed country contexts, with notable differences as well as similarities between those contexts. Community Based Rehabilitation was first promoted by the World Health Organisation in the mid-1970s to address the limited nature of the rehabilitation workforce in developing countries, through the provision of basic services at a community level, incorporating principles of primary health care, relevant rehabilitation practices, and seeking to use local resources and build local skills (Hartley, Finkenflugel, Kuipers, & Thomas, 2009).
The most broadly used definition of CBR, has noted that CBR is “a strategy within general community development for rehabilitation, equalization of opportunities, and social inclusion of all people with disabilities...implemented through the combined efforts of people with disabilities themselves, their families and communities, and the appropriate health, education, vocational, and social services” (ILO, UNESCO, & WHO, 2004). The emphasis in this statement on community development, poverty reduction, equalisation of opportunities, and social integration are in keeping with the developing country context from which CBR emerged, but key aspects of CBR are also highly relevant to economically developed countries.