Improving access to quality physiotherapy care in Lebanon

Led by Associate Professor Bruno Tirotti Saragiotto, Head of Physiotherapy at UTS, Australian, Lebanese and regional partners are collaborating to co-design and implement sustainable telerehabilitation services that can continue supporting communities long after the project concludes. 

With support from the Council for Australia-Arab Relations, Bruno and colleagues are leading a new Australia–Lebanon initiative that will use digital health to improve access to physiotherapy while strengthening the capacity of Lebanon's rehabilitation workforce. 

"This project is about much more than technology. It is about ensuring that people can continue to receive high-quality rehabilitation despite the disruption caused by conflict, economic instability and workforce shortages," said Bruno.

“We are grateful for the support from the Council for Australia-Arab Relations that will enable us to create a sustainable digital health initiative to improve health justice and access to rehabilitation in Lebanon.” 

This project is about much more than technology. It is about ensuring that people can continue to receive high-quality rehabilitation despite the disruption caused by conflict, economic instability and workforce shortages.

Driving scalable health system improvements 

Through partnerships with Lebanese and MENA-region organisations including CareKite, a UAE-registered healthcare consultancy specialising in rehabilitation services and Arwa Hesham, providing multilingual expertise in content production and cross-cultural marketing, the initiative will deliver immediate clinical benefit.

“Our project will strengthen local health system capacity and create a scalable model for digital rehabilitation across the region. It also positions UTS researchers and Australia as trusted partners in health innovation and research translation,” said Bruno.

Other collaborators include:

• Dr. Saydeh Sassine, a distinguished physical therapist and President of the Lebanese Order of Physiotherapists and newly elected President of the Arab Confederation for Physical Therapy, who provides national-level influence, physiotherapist recruitment, operational support, training coordination, and partnership development.
• Dr. Pascal El Braidy, Director of the Institute of Physiotherapy at Saint Joseph University–Beirut who brings over 24 years of clinical experience, contributes training facilities, academic oversight, accreditation support, and local institutional partnerships.
• A/Prof Alexandre Lopes, associate professor in the Physical Therapy Department of the Hunter College at the City University of New York, USA, whose current research focuses on supporting physical therapy practice in low and middle-income countries through telerehabilitation.

Among the challenges the team will address are:

• limited access to rehabilitation services: particularly for people with chronic conditions, disability, musculoskeletal issues or post-conflict injuries
• pressure on Lebanon’s health system: there is a lack of consistent, evidence-based physiotherapy care
• barriers to in-person care: including geography, cost, mobility limitations, service availability and system disruption
• limited local telehealth capability: physiotherapists need training, mentoring and practical tools to deliver care safely and effectively online.
• developing sustainable service models: to ensure the project can continue when grant funding finishes
• addressing digital implementation challenges: platform set-up, data security, clinical protocols, quality assurance and user support.

To ensure there is access to the training materials and patient resources for Lebanese and wider MENA audiences, Bruno’s immediate priorities include building trust and engagement with clinicians, patients, policymakers and partner organisations.

 It also positions UTS researchers and Australia as trusted partners in health innovation and research translation.

Other priorities include:

Through a combination of strong partnerships, digital innovation, local clinical leadership and workforce training, Bruno anticipates that the project will provide the evidence needed to pave the way for new projects that will deliver longer-term health system impacts across the region.

What’s next?

• Discover Bruno’s research