Blended learning with Physiopedia Plus supports rehabilitation training in West Africa

 Physiopedia Plus (Plus) partnerships with international humanitarian organisations are demonstrating effective approaches to professional development delivery across low and middle income countries. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is using a blended learning approach in Togo that combines face-to-face instruction with Plus online courses, allowing their team to focus on practical support rather than creating training materials from scratch.

Access to quality continuing professional development remains a persistent challenge for rehabilitation professionals working in resource-limited settings. The ICRC recognised these constraints and developed a solution that maximises learning outcomes whilst minimising disruption to essential healthcare services and internal resource demands.

The organisation’s physical rehabilitation programme supports practitioners across multiple low and middle income countries, many of whom work in contexts where internet connectivity varies and digital literacy presents genuine obstacles to online learning adoption. Rather than viewing these challenges as insurmountable barriers, the ICRC team designed their training approach to address practical hurdles whilst building peer support networks.

The collaboration between Physiopedia and the ICRC in West and Central Africa is a use case that demonstrates how digital learning can effectively strengthen rehabilitation capacity in low-resource and conflict-affected contexts. Using a blended learning approach, 18 physiotherapists and ortho-prosthetists from six countries (the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Togo, Benin, and Ivory Coast) participated in a training on lower limb amputation rehabilitation. The online phase, drawing upon existing resources from the Physiopedia platform, enabled participants to access high-quality, evidence-based learning materials at their own pace, supported by structured discussion sessions. This ensured that all
participants had a minimum of theoretical knowledge before participating in the face-to-face session.

Beyond building clinical knowledge and skills, the training also helped participants develop digital literacy and confidence in using online learning tools, an essential step for continuing professional development in regions where training opportunities are limited.

“Participants struggle with registration and accessing materials when they try to do it independently,” explains Barbara Rau from the ICRC. “Face-to-face training allows us to support people through these initial hurdles whilst teaching them how to use the platform effectively for their ongoing professional development.”

By combining remote learning with in-person practical sessions, the programme fostered regional peer exchange and strengthened the rehabilitation workforce’s ability to deliver quality care for people living with limb loss.

By using existing Plus courses as the online learning component, the ICRC can deliver quality blended training without the significant time and expense of developing course materials internally. This allows staff to concentrate their efforts on providing practical support and addressing context-specific challenges that practitioners face in their own settings.

This partnership model holds particular relevance for French-speaking African countries where rehabilitation professionals often face multiple barriers to continuing education. The Physiopedia AI Assistant provides additional support by allowing practitioners to pose clinical questions in French, whilst the platform’s extensive video library reduces language dependency through visual demonstration of techniques.

Physiopedia offers deeper clinical reflection that goes beyond simple summaries; that critical thinking component is exactly what our practitioners need to develop as they advance in their careers. – Barbara Rau

Beyond Togo, the ICRC partnership extends across multiple countries where they support rehabilitation services, with several low income nations forming collaborative learning groups that share resources and support networks. This regional approach amplifies the impact of individual partnerships by creating communities of practice that extend beyond single training events.

Healthcare organisations working in similar contexts can adapt the ICRC approach to their own settings, using Plus courses to provide the online learning component whilst focusing their resources on face-to-face support, platform guidance and building peer networks. The partnership demonstrates how Physiopedia Plus organisational memberships can address workforce development challenges whilst reducing the resource burden of creating training materials internally.

For organisations considering how to strengthen continuing professional development for their rehabilitation workforce, the ICRC approach offers a practical model where existing Plus courses provide the educational content whilst staff focus on implementation support. To explore partnership opportunities that could bring similar benefits to your organisation, contact us to discuss how collaborative approaches can support your professional development goals whilst reducing the burden of content creation.