Celebrating the Conference Theme: ‘Pacific Leaders creating Sustainable Services’, delegates from nine countries in the Pacific region, inclusive of those who use, provide and manage services worked together to share ideas, discuss and learn about how to build inclusive rehabilitation…
It’s amazing how quickly four years goes by. Motivation Australia is thrilled to have recently completed the Samoa Integrated Mobility Device Service (SIMDES) project which started in 2014. It seems like yesterday that the Samoan National Health Service, Nuanua o…
Diabetes and its complications are a large and ever-growing burden within the Pacific Islands. Polynesia and Micronesia have the world’s highest age-standardised diabetes prevalence rate of over 25%, with Melanesia not far behind at 15%¹. With this high prevalence of…
The situation: diabetic foot ulcers were leading to high rates of amputation Pacific Islands account for eight of the top ten in the world for diabetes prevalence. In 2014 Polynesia and Micronesia had the world’s highest age-standardised diabetes prevalence rate…
In October Motivation Australia’s Lee and Katrina visited Samoa to undertake a rapid review of the prosthetic and orthotic components and materials that had been procured for the Mobility Device Service (MDS) as part of the Samoa Integrated Mobility Device…
“I feel very happy… I learned a lot… I feel more comfortable and more confident to face people.” Shares Setu Tiatia, a member of Nuanua O le Alofa (NOLA), the national disability advocacy organisation in Samoa, and a key part…
Motivation Australia’s (MA), Larissa Burke visited Samoa in October 2017 to work with stakeholders and a local team to prepare to undertake qualitative interviews with those who have been provided with a prosthetic or long term orthotic from the National…
An important milestone was reached last week in Samoa….the number of clients who have received a wheelchair, walking aid, prosthetic or orthotic device from the newly established Mobility Device Service at TTM hospital in Apia, passed 1,000! Congratulations to the Samoan…
The Samoan National Health Service’s Mobility Device Service (MDS) will take another big step forward in the New Year with the much anticipated launch of Prosthetics and Orthotics services! The end of November saw a surge of activity with the…
Earlier this year Marjolein Wiegman, from the University of Twente in the Netherlands joined Motivation Australia as an intern to undertake research into the ‘Costs and benefits of the Diabetic Foot Clinic in Samoa’. The research demonstrated that care provided by…
Running a successful wheelchair (or any other assistive technology) service requires management level support. That means that managers need to understand how to plan, implement and manage their service; motivate personnel; and ensure that the right resources are in place…
The Samoan National Health Service’s Diabetic Foot Clinic (DFC) was established almost a year ago, with the goal of providing quality, multidisciplinary wound management to reduce the number of amputations caused by diabetic foot complications. While we can see the benefits…
Introducing Marjolein Weigman, volunteer intern at Motivation Australia. She is a Health Sciences student from the University of Twente in the Netherlands. Marjolein wanted to come to Australia to experience “the great culture and the beautiful natural environment”. Her research project titled “Costs and…
In 2014 the International Diabetes Federation reported that Pacific Island countries account for eight of the top ten countries in the world for diabetes prevalence, with some rates as high as 37%. The increasing burden diabetes is placing on social…
The Samoa Disability Programme (SDP) is a comprehensive Australian Government funded initiative currently being implemented in Samoa. The programme is led and coordinated by the Government of Samoa through the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (MWCSD), with a…
The Samoa Disability Programme (SDP) is a comprehensive Australian Government funded initiative currently being implemented in Samoa. It has as an overall development goal of: a human-rights based, inclusive and barrier free society which advocates for and empowers people with…
The last five weeks have been busy ones on our project in Samoa. We are very pleased to welcome our new Principal (service manager) to the Mobility Device Service (MDS) team at the Samoa National Health Service. The Principal came on board just in…
The Samoan Mobility Device Service (MDS) continues to move from strength to strength. Four wheelchair service personnel are providing competent, quality services to Samoans with a mobility disability. More than 200 people with a disability have received appropriate mobility devices…
The Samoa Mobility Device Service (MDS) has reached an important milestone this week – with 100 mobility devices rolling and walking out the door! 100 appropriate wheelchairs or walking aids that have been provided by trained, local personnel. The MDS…