Physical rehabilitation and its influence on built form through game mechanics : a proposed children's physical rehabilitation centre for the city of Durban.
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Date
2014
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Abstract
With the evolution of social behaviours in a modern peri- urban environment, a
pattern has emerged that has begun to dislocate physically disabled children of
Durban from society. Physical rehabilitation clinics and therapy centres are rare
in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province. The existing available rehabilitation centres
are attached to healthcare or educational buildings. There are no purpose built
physical rehabilitation centres for children in Durban. While many studies have
illustrated the detrimental impact of this lack of service, few have linked one’s
perception of the built environment with the potential for improving the
treatment of physical rehabilitation.
This study has demonstrated a lack of government involvement in healthcare for
the disabled. Physically the built environment directly affects a user’s progress
in their rehabilitation treatment affording opportunities for stimulating patients
physically, mentally and unconsciously through an enriched and meaningful
environment.
The primary purpose of this research is to explore the ways in which one
perceives the built environment and how this impacts one’s own perception of
self and subsequently how this may be utilized to improve the effectiveness of
the physical rehabilitation in children.
It is important to understand the nature of physical disability and the effect it
has on children, to ensure a realistic and functional approach. Interviews with
children undergoing physical rehabilitation at an institution were crucial to
providing both disabled and persons who treat the disabled with valuable data
that was accurate in order to represent the issues present today. The interview
data was cross-referenced with data gathered during case study research in order
to ground the data in the built environment. The findings describe ways in which the built environment may be utilized to
encourage a positive self-image and directly affect the process of rehabilitation,
through physiological and psychological means.
Description
Masters in Development Studies.
Keywords
Rehabilitation centers--South Africa--Durban., Children--Rehabilitation--South Africa--Durban., Children with disabilities--South Africa--Durban., Games--Rehabilitation--South Africa--Durban., Theses--Development Studies.