Rehabilitation Science is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on human function, disability and participation and its relationship to health and well-being. It incorporates basic and applied research from health sciences, social sciences, psychology, engineering, and draws on a wide range of disciplines including, but not limited to, medicine, rehabilitation, bioengineering, biomechanics, sociology, behavioral sciences and health economy. It mainly aims at enhancing physical and psychosocial functioning, participation in life, quality of life of people with disabilities, informing relevant social and health care policy.
Rehabilitation is an ever changing and evolving field that adapts to the constant changing needs of health and social care around the world. There is an increasing need for rehabilitation services worldwide due to changing health and demographic trends (WHO, 2019). In Palestine, there is an additional demand on the health system due to the ongoing political conflict resulting in an increase in the population living with chronic conditions and disability. This calls for preparing researchers, educators, and leaders in the area of rehabilitation science to contribute to the development of rehabilitation practice, research, and policy.
Developing the PhD in Rehabilitation Science program in Palestine will create an ideal training environment for tomorrow’s junior researchers and faculty members in the rehabilitation sciences, and thus, produce Palestinian focused research studies addressing local needs and enriching the local culture of research and evidence-based practice.
The PhD in Rehabilitation Science program at the Arab American University Palestine is being developed in collaboration with Jacksonville University – School of Applied Health Sciences in the United States. This collaboration allows faculty members from both universities to co-teach all program’s courses and also supervise students’ dissertations. The PhD candidates will further receive a rigorous education to meet the U.S. academic standards of doctoral education, and will be applicable to local cultural context.
Graduates from the doctoral program will be able to work as faculty members at any college of Rehabilitation Sciences inside, or outside, of Palestine that offer BS, MS, or PhD degree in (Occupational therapy, Physio-therapy, Prosthetics and Orthotics, Speech and Hearing Disorder and Therapy).
