Meine-Rehabilitation.de is a new web portal set up by the German Federal Pension Insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund – DRV Bund) to help people find a quality-assured rehabilitation centre. For each centre, users can see the results of the quality assurance audits carried out by the DRV Bund. The new online service allows the DRV Bund to fulfil its legal obligation to publicly report quality assurance results for rehabilitation centres and support insured persons in exercising their right to choose a rehabilitation provider.

In order to meet the needs of families with disabled children aged 3–17 who wish to use mainstream optional and extracurricular childcare facilities, the Family Branch in France has set up ad hoc funding support. This support offsets the extra costs incurred by different facilities (such as disability training/awareness-raising for activity teams, additional staff, adapting and purchasing equipment, preparation, and coordination time, etc.).

In the Turkish social security system, some of the in-cash benefits are temporary incapacity allowances, funeral grants, breastfeeding grants, celiac and metabolic diseases payments, and disposable Underpad Payments. Those payments are made directly to individuals’ bank accounts.

In 2020, the Government of Azerbaijan approved a regulation for the Individual Rehabilitation Programme (IRP) for persons with disabilities. The individual programme includes a set of measures related to the medical, vocational, psychological-pedagogical rehabilitation and the development of social skills of persons with disabilities.

To help disabled people to be more independent, the way the Disabled Adult Allowance (Allocation aux adultes handicapés – AAH) is calculated was changed on 1 October 2023. We produced a video to offer support to those who receive the allowance. The communication methods used have been adapted to the target audience; as some recipients have hearing impairments, this video has been dubbed in French sign language (langue des signes française – LSF).

Unédic (Unemployment Insurance) (Unédic (Assurance chômage)) in France launched its brand-new website on 18 October 2023. Accessibility has been put at the heart of the redesign, making information about Unédic and unemployment insurance even more accessible, in line with current regulation and standards, specifically for people with disabilities.

In 2014 the National Institute for Insurance against Accident at Work (Istituto Nazionale per l’Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro – Inail) of Italy, was assigned new specific tasks regarding work reintegration of people with job related disabilities. The resulting regulatory framework allows it to finance up to a maximum of 150,000 euros (EUR) for each worker, aimed at supporting work reintegration projects in three areas:

The DG Universal Health Insurance (DG UHI) established under the Social Security Institution (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu – SGK) of Türkiye develops policies and regulates the universal health insurance sector, which concerns almost the entire Turkish population.

The “In the spotlight” (Sur le vif) video series was launched at the end of 2022 and features Unédic (Unemployment Insurance) (Unédic (Assurance chômage)) experts from France. We see a close-up shot of the interviewee in a brightly coloured setting, who has to answer as many questions as possible straight into the camera in 90 seconds. The questions are on cards and will be picked at random, covering the employee’s job, the Unédic collective, and more random subjects to bring spontaneity and authenticity.

Launched in 2022, the “All about my unemployment rights” (Tout sur mes droits Chômage) video series sees Alexandra Sabbe-Ferri, an employment lawyer and founder of the mesindemnites.com website, come together with an expert from France’s Unédic (Unemployment Insurance) (Unédic (Assurance chômage)).

People with disabilities are one of society’s most excluded groups and usually have the most difficulties in accessing health, education, employment, and social security. Current policies are either not inclusive, or are still in the initial stages, and thus do not protect the rights of this group. We need rules and regulations that support us in taking action to better protect their rights. Even more importantly, we need to properly understand their needs in order to provide quality care.

Until June 2023, it has only been possible to access in Iceland the Disability Card on the My pages of the Social Security Administration (Tryggingastofnun ríkisins – TR) and order a plastic card on TR’s website, but from June the card has also been accessible digitally on Ísland.is.

Since 2022, medical reports for temporary disability at work, maternity, childcare, accidents at work and occupational diseases that are paid by social insurance, are no longer received over papers but are delivered through the electronic system E-Reports (e-RM), which interacts with the e-Albania government portal, offering a fast and secure way to exchange information.

The Greek social security institutions that were integrated into the Electronic National Social Security Fund (e-EFKA), bequeathed it, among other problems, with a plethora of issues related to “pending pensions”.

More specifically, the time required to examine the cases was too long, thus a large number of pending cases had been accumulated, and citizens’ communication with the competent services was quite difficult, while the Administration of e-EFKA faced difficulties in gathering the data for the optimum use of available resources.

Uruguay’s Social Insurance Bank (Banco de Previsión Social – BPS) manages the National System of Labour Certification, (Sistema Nacional de Certificación Laboral – SNCL), which centralizes the register of medical leave certificates for active workers for social security purposes.

Sport without barriers is a series of video stories featuring the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (Istituto Nazionale per l’Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro – Inail) of Italy, assisting people with disabilities caused by accidents at work. Each of them tells firsthand in simple and engaging language how the person managed to rebuild her life after an accident at work, thanks to his passion for sport and with the support of the Institute.

Ireland’s Budget 2022 included an announcement that those suffering from alopecia and cancer could avail of a 500 euros (EUR) grant towards the cost of a hair replacement product subject to meeting certain Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) criteria. Other changes to treatment benefit qualification were also announced with an implementation date of May 2022.

An electronic certificate (e-certificate) is a way for disabled people to get an assistive device (AD), which can be used in addition to existing support methods, i.e., in kind or with compensation paid for the rehabilitation product that a person has bought himself/herself.

The poorest citizens are mostly single recipients of old-age and invalidity pensions. The government wants to reduce their risk of poverty. The State Social Insurance Fund Board of the Republic of Lithuania under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour (Sodra) wants to help in particular those who are often not even aware that they are entitled to the new benefit, or those who are unable to come to claim and unable to use the electronic claim form.

The Social services portal (the Portal) was developed as part of the implementation of the National of the State Social Insurance Fund (SSIF) of Kazakhstan plan to ensure the rights and improve the quality of life of disabled people.

The Portal is a part of the unified information system of the social and labor sphere and is an automated system that provides persons with disabilities with the opportunity to independently choose and purchase technical rehabilitation means (TMR) and services directly from suppliers.

With effect from 1 January 2020, the Czech legal order stipulated the obligation to issue sickness certificates in electronic form only. The arrangement became effective in 2019, so the implementation of the project was without any transition period.

Malta has not been spared the health, economic and social effects and challenges posed by COVID-19 over most of 2020 and 2021.

The well-being of the population was understandably given top priority through restrictive and containment measures to control the spread of the virus. The programme was strongly supported by the population largely resulting in a relatively low number of infections and deaths.

Argentina’s Superintendency of Health Services (Superintendencia de Servicios de Salud – SSSalud) ensures that citizens can freely exercise their right to switch between social security organizations. This system has been in place since 1998.

The Social Insurance Institute (SII) of Albania, as part of the digital transformation, has started to offer electronic services since 2020, but since 1st May 2022, in accordance with
DCM no. 252/2022 on the procedures for providing online services by the service-offering institutions and for the methodology of monitoring and controlling the administrative activity of their provision, all services in the field of social insurance are performed, only through the online service, on the e-Albania government platform.(https://e-albania.al/)

In 2019, the State Social Protection Fund of under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SSPF) introduced the unique artificial intelligence (AI) driven proactive assignment mechanism for the assignment of social benefits. This self-starting assignment system is a modern approach to delivering a social service that uses big data and technology to identify and reach out to eligible individuals and assign social benefits from a single center to families without them having to visit any institution.

Human rights and dignity stay at the top of the Agency for Sustainable and Operational Social Security (DOST) of Azerbaijan values. Considering its mission to provide the population with operative and smooth access to labor and social protection services, the Agency developed and implemented social innovations that increased citizen satisfaction. The position of the front office for citizens and mid office for ministerial and third-party organizations allows DOST the best coordination between citizens and service providers.

Analysis of citizens’ appeals revealed that the definite groups of people due to their growing number and specific physical and mental conditions, required different approaches.

The Agency for Sustainable and Operational Social Security (DOST) Volunteer Programme in Azerbaijan is a crucial part of the DOST Agency’s activities and applies a new innovative approach to Government to Citizen (G2C) communication. DOST volunteers act as an intermediary within the Agency and beyond it. The programme is focused on the day-to-day operations at the DOST centres, such as guiding citizens, assisting people with disabilities and older persons, conducting satisfaction surveys, and participating in CSR projects of the Agency.

The Proactive Disability Payments Mechanism of the Agency for Sustainable and Operational Social Security (DOST) of Azerbaijan simplifies the rights of disabled citizens by eliminating the need for explicit requests and paper-based documentation. The mechanism automatically identifies disabled citizens’ entitlement, verifies their information, and, if eligible, calculates and assigns the relevant social benefit or pension. This approach ensures a citizen-centric process, removing the requirement for citizens to initiate requests and simplifying access to vital services.

COLSUBSIDIO - Colombian Family Allowances Fund (Caja Colombiana de Subsidio Familiar) designs and develops its programmes with a focus on inclusion, ensuring that everybody has the same opportunities regardless of age, gender, race, religion or disability.

Chile’s Mutual for Safety CChC (Mutual de Seguridad CChC) has formed a multidisciplinary team to develop and implement a care model for its patients with sequelae. Tailored to the needs of chronically ill patients, the model allows appropriate monitoring of related risks with a view to preventing bio-psychosocial complications that can affect how such patients maintain their residual capacity in the long term.

The National Social Security Institute (Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social – INSS) is a social security management body responsible for managing and administering certain financial benefits in the Spanish social security system, including medical checks related to temporary incapacity (TI) benefit.

From 2012 to 2018 there was a considerable increase in all TI indicators (incidence, prevalence and average duration).

A worldwide epidemic of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with cases among agricultural workers, and others performing manual labour, especially in Central America, known as CKD of unknown cause (CDKu). The objective of this study was to verify prevalence of rural/city workers with CKD and associated factors.

In Peru, 10.4 per cent of the population has a disability. It is estimated that only 33 per cent of persons with disabilities of working age participate in the labour market, given that educational level and job training are key factors for access to employment. With this in mind, the EsSalud - Social Health Insurance Institute (EsSalud - Seguro Social de Salud) of Peru established the Vocational Rehabilitation Centres (Centros de Rehabilitación Profesional – CERPS) for persons with disabilities over 14 years of age.

The National Social Security Institute (INSS) is the body responsible for granting and maintaining social security benefits in Brazil. One of the main challenges for the INSS is to provide the conditions for workers who exhibit consolidated after-effects from illness or an accident to be able to return to the job market, so that they can support themselves without relying on the social security system.

The strategy described in this account consisted of identifying a quadriplegic worker, but who had the possibility of returning to work.

The provision of modern decent housing to grossly injured workers is part of the broader basic human rights identified by the United Nations Human Rights Council and ratified by many other African countries, Zimbabwe included. This is supposed to be part of a broader benefits planning framework strategy that can assist the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) to address the benefits issue relating to the resettlement of grossly injured workers.

The Canada Pension Plan Service Improvement Strategy (CPP SIS), developed by the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), was successfully concluded in 2022. The six-year strategy was designed to address service delivery challenges brought on by the increasing number of clients and evolving client expectations of government services.

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), called job accommodation, is a programme of the National Social Security Institute (Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social – INSS) of Brazil, which aims the reintegration of workers with disability in compatible activities.

Industrial and commuting accidents in Malaysia continue to be a burden to the working population, most especially road accidents related to their occupations. Prompt treatment of the injuries is of the essence to ensure better clinical prognosis and outcome, reduction of disability and continued employability of the contributors. However, in several cases the provision of the surgical implants during acute treatment maybe prolonged due to financial hurdles or processing delays when claiming from the social security organization.

On the grounds of the amendment of the Mexican Social Security Law of 1995, we discerned the need to implement a new actuarial model to valuate the financial situation of the Disability and Life Insurance (seguro de invalidez y vida (SIV)), according to the radical change in the pension scheme. Therefrom, we adjusted the existing actuarial models; however, eventually, the need and challenge of reconsidering the model arose in order to have a model that covered the changes taking place during the terms of the pension scheme.

Based on the changes made on the “Regulation on Medical-Social Expert Commissions”, the applied system ensures that the disability assessment process is carried out objectively and transparently through the electronic infrastructure without official-citizen contacts.

Therefore it was decided to sign contracts with the public health-care providers, including custom-made orthesis-prosthesis production centres, and on 27 November 2012 the contract was formally announced on the SSI's web site. Before the announcement, the draft contracts were discussed in workshops with representatives from the orthesis-prosthesis production centres. The information system was updated with the requirements for these contracts.

The state institute of the ISSSTE in Campeche offers equine therapy as a complementary therapy to traditional techniques in the rehabilitation of a large number of chronic and subacute diseases, including physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, stroke, multiple sclerosis, as well as psychiatric or psychological disorders such as autism, emotional and cognitive problems, to name but a few.

Until recently structural and functional-oriented therapy approaches were the main ones to figure among the established procedures for medical rehabilitation. Occupational and activity-oriented treatment approaches had previously been under-represented.

As retirees with low retirement pensions represent the majority of the total number of retirees, the main objective was to extend the umbrella of social security to ensure a decent life for all retirees with an annual pension increase capped at 20 Jordanian dinars (JOD). The limit on the pension increase is endorsed to reduce the gap between high and low retirement pensions.

The schedule provides a transparent, consistent and objective method of assessment providing certainty for workers and others as to the level of permanent impairment. The schedule contains the fundamental principles of ratings based on evidence-based medical and scientific literature and reviewing and incorporating different national and international rating systems.

In the past, these evaluations were strictly medical and considered only biological aspects. The current model is based on a joint social and medical expert evaluation from a bio-psycho-social perspective, which recognizes existing barriers, as well as performance limitations and restrictions for persons with disabilities.

Currently, 1,972,585 people with disabilities receive benefits in Brazil (Source: SUIBE, Sistema Único de Informações de Benefícios [Unique Benefits Information System, Jul/2012). SUIBE, Jul/2012).

Modern data mining techniques were used to identify the most significant predictors of the duration of temporary incapacity for the most common contingencies (identificando los principales factores pronósticos en cuanto a la duración de la incapacidad temporal por contingencias comunes (ITCC)). Graduated scales of Risk of Temporary Incapacity (RTI) were developed for the ten diseases most frequently causing long-term ITCC.

Chile’s Mutual for Safety CChC (Mutual de Seguridad CChC), in its role as administrator of Law No. 16,744 on work accidents and occupational diseases, has for more than 15 years had a process in place to promote and facilitate workers’ return to work. It has helped to generate rehabilitation processes through its holistic approach to health, with a focus on providing social protection and social security coverage to Chile’s workforce.

On average, an initial application takes an average of two to three months for a decision. SSA has an obligation to provide benefits quickly to individuals whose medical conditions clearly meet our disability standards.

A functional disorder is defined as adaptation to the needs of the environment and the abilities or competencies required responding to such needs, which define the ability of the individual to function. A pathology modifies the interaction of the individual with his or her environment.

The portal is based on the concept of accessibility best practices, which are standardized interpretations of accessibility regulations with recommended enterprise approaches to implementation. The best practices demystify the complex world of accessibility regulations by providing proven solutions, methods, and testing approaches that span the entire development life cycle, assuring consistent accessible outcomes.

The Accessibility Best Practices Portal provides the following advantages:

Integrating individuals with health impairments into working life results in a win-win situation for all parties involved, anywhere in the world: from the disabled individuals themselves, through businesses and external service providers, to the insurance institutions. People who are unable to participate in working life find that their quality of life is seriously impaired, and are also forced to live at others' expense. Conversely, as employees they contribute towards the wealth of society as a whole.

The core element of the new concept is the prompt and comprehensive care of accident victims in complex cases. In the case of specific disabilities and in particular, subjective circumstances, Suva initiates the proactive care of accident victims immediately after the event. In addition to medical requirements, this intensive support is also intended to protect the insuree's job, and to extend to the coordination of claims against other insurance companies. Within the legal limits imposed upon its services, Suva wishes to ensure that even difficult cases do not become a problem.

The Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen (PES)) first makes an assessment to establish whether the jobseeker has a reduced working capacity and also to examine whether the impairment can be compensated fully or partially with other support. A work analysis is carried out based on knowledge of the conditions and functional impairment of the jobseeker and the information which is obtained at the workplace. A WS may be provided for a maximum of four years. The support may be extended under certain circumstances.

The main benefit for the interested user is to solve his INPS problem with a simple call or email without moving from home.

Another challenge was to offer INPS disabled personnel an opportunity for professional and skills growth and to further develop their experience and sensitivity to disability problems by involving them in the project activities.