Thailand Visit Conducted Under JICA's Project to Improve Elderly Services in Sri Lanka

Thailand Visiting Program for JICA Project on Capacity Enhancement of Elderly Service Management in the Community in Sri Lanka (ProCEES) was conducted from 26^th to 31^st May 2024 with a view to leading to the improvement of elderly service in Sri Lanka. JICA brought a delegation of ten officials from Ministry of Health and Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment for this training.

In Thailand, JICA supported the improvement of elderly service from 2007 to 2022. It was explained in the visiting program that Thailand had tackled similar challenges currently faced in Sri Lanka. It was a great opportunity to discuss lessons learned in Thailand and how to provide elderly service with available resources.

In Sri Lanka, physical therapists and occupational therapists are insufficient to provide adequate rehabilitation service in community. Thailand has been facing similar challenges; therefore, nurses have been trained and engaged in rehabilitation service in addition to physical therapist and occupational therapist.

To learn about how to practically manage the challenges, the delegation visited the top referral hospital (i.e., the highest-level medical facility to which patients who cannot be handled by lower-level medical facilities are transported). At the Sirindhorn National Medical Rehabilitation Institute, not only providing higher-level medical care, but human resources development has been concentrated on. A six-month training program is being conducted for nurses to provide rehabilitation service in community. In addition, the delegation visited Bang Si Thong City, where caregivers are mobilized to provide rehabilitation service. This countermeasure was undertaken as a unique initiative commencing at the city.

At the feedback seminar held after return to Sri Lanka, the participants commented, "based on what we learned in Thailand, we are determined to improve rehabilitation service in the community. We are going to visit the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital Ragama, a higher-level medical facility in Sri Lanka, to compare the current services with those in Thailand and to consider what kind of service we can provide for the elderly.”

ProCEES will last for another 7 months before ending, and we would like to make the most of what we have learned in Thailand to improve elderly service as much as possible.