Rehabilitation outcomes are an important measurement of trauma system effectiveness. However, currently there is no clinically applicable trauma rehabilitation score or framework available to evaluate health and rehabilitation needs after trauma. The World report on Disability (2011) recommended the application of the World Health Organisation International Classification of Function, Disability and Health (ICF) as a framework for all aspects of rehabilitation. A standardised language, based on coded categories would aid in international efforts to evaluate health and disability globally. The ICF framework has not been applied in trauma rehabilitation or trauma systems to date. The objectives were to investigate rehabilitation needs of trauma patients and evaluate to what extent the ICF can be used as a framework to capture and assess health and rehabilitation outcome of patients following traumatic injuries. Two cohort studies with 103 and 308 patients respectively demonstrated the utility of the Rehabilitation Complexity Scale (RCS) in an acute trauma setting. The RCS outperformed other acute measures and rehabilitation complexity correlated with length of stay and discharge destination. A systematic review of 34 articles confirmed that outcome measures frequently used in trauma outcome studies represent only six percent of health concepts contained in the ICF. A quantitative international on-line questionnaire with expert clinicians working in trauma (n=217), identified 121 ICF categories pertinent to rehabilitation and health outcome of trauma patients. Qualitative patient interviews (n=32) identified nearly double the amount of ICF categories (n=234) compared to clinicians. Combined analysis of qualitative and quantitative data presents 109 ICF categories important for rehabilitation and health outcome assessment of trauma patients, using the ICF as a framework. This thesis describes the need for improved outcome evaluation of trauma patients. It demonstrates the acceptability of the ICF language and framework amongst clinicians and suggests the application of the ICF as a framework for trauma service delivery and outcome assessment.

<p>According to the United Nations, more than half a billion people (about 650 million) worldwide are disabled. Disability can have a vast impact on both the individual and the family. Rehabilitation is therefore a fundamental need for the persons with disability to achieve functional independence and have an improved quality of life. To enhance the effectiveness of rehabilitation, it is important to seek clients&rsquo / perspectives of the rehabilitation services and to incorporate these perspectives into the planning and delivery of rehabilitation services. In areas where rehabilitation services are available in South Africa, minimal research has been done to explore the clients&rsquo / experiences regarding provision of these services. The aim of this study&nbsp / therefore was to explore the persons with physical disabilities&rsquo / experiences of the rehabilitation services they received at community health centres (CHCs) in the Cape Town Metro Health&nbsp / District. Data was collected using a mixed methods design in the form of a sequential exploratory strategy. Qualitative data collection was done using in-depth interviews and this was followed&nbsp / by administration of an interview questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed using results from the in-depth interviews together with information from literature. Ten persons with physical&nbsp / isabilities, who had received rehabilitation services at participated in the in-depth interviews and 95 responded to the interview questionnaire. The interviews were tape-recorded and&nbsp / transcribed verbatim and they were analysed using predetermined themes. The SPSS version 16.0 was used to analyse the quantitative data which was presented in frequencies, medians, quartiles and percentages. The results&nbsp / of the study revealed that the participants experienced problems with getting transport to travel to the community health centres and getting adequate information from the service providers,&nbsp / &nbsp / particularly information regarding disability and support services available for them. Experiences regarding participants&rsquo / involvement in their rehabilitation were generally positive. Generally, the&nbsp / participants reported positive experiences regarding their interaction with service providers and family support and involvement and this study recommends the staff to maintain their standards&nbsp / &nbsp / regarding these two dimensions of rehabilitation. However most of the participants were not concerned about whether the service providers gave them an opportunity to express their preferences or not. The results indicate the need to improve transport services for persons with physical disabilities and to give them more information regarding support services. The service providers&nbsp / should also give the clients more opportunities to get involved in their rehabilitation and educate them about the benefits of them getting involved.</p>

<p>According to the United Nations, more than half a billion people (about 650 million) worldwide are disabled. Disability can have a vast impact on both the individual and the family. Rehabilitation is therefore a fundamental need for the persons with disability to achieve functional independence and have an improved quality of life. To enhance the effectiveness of rehabilitation, it is important to seek clients&rsquo / perspectives of the rehabilitation services and to incorporate these perspectives into the planning and delivery of rehabilitation services. In areas where rehabilitation services are available in South Africa, minimal research has been done to explore the clients&rsquo / experiences regarding provision of these services. The aim of this study&nbsp / therefore was to explore the persons with physical disabilities&rsquo / experiences of the rehabilitation services they received at community health centres (CHCs) in the Cape Town Metro Health&nbsp / District. Data was collected using a mixed methods design in the form of a sequential exploratory strategy. Qualitative data collection was done using in-depth interviews and this was followed&nbsp / by administration of an interview questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed using results from the in-depth interviews together with information from literature. Ten persons with physical&nbsp / isabilities, who had received rehabilitation services at participated in the in-depth interviews and 95 responded to the interview questionnaire. The interviews were tape-recorded and&nbsp / transcribed verbatim and they were analysed using predetermined themes. The SPSS version 16.0 was used to analyse the quantitative data which was presented in frequencies, medians, quartiles and percentages. The results&nbsp / of the study revealed that the participants experienced problems with getting transport to travel to the community health centres and getting adequate information from the service providers,&nbsp / &nbsp / particularly information regarding disability and support services available for them. Experiences regarding participants&rsquo / involvement in their rehabilitation were generally positive. Generally, the&nbsp / participants reported positive experiences regarding their interaction with service providers and family support and involvement and this study recommends the staff to maintain their standards&nbsp / &nbsp / regarding these two dimensions of rehabilitation. However most of the participants were not concerned about whether the service providers gave them an opportunity to express their preferences or not. The results indicate the need to improve transport services for persons with physical disabilities and to give them more information regarding support services. The service providers&nbsp / should also give the clients more opportunities to get involved in their rehabilitation and educate them about the benefits of them getting involved.</p>

The objective of this dissertation thesis is the application of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) with mentally retarded persons, or the examination of ways of application of its data for a possible inclusion of mentally retarded persons into society. The thesis deals with the system of the ICF classification, its application within the framework of research as well as the subsequent possible application in practice when reviewing the situation of disabled persons.The results of the thesis bring a recommendation how it is possible to proceed when reviewing the situation of a mentally retarded client in practice and how to use the ICF classification as a tool of support of psychosocial inclusion of these persons.

Virtual reality is rapidly expanding its capabilities and accessibility to consumers. The application of virtual reality in training for precision tasks has been limited to specialized equipment such as a haptic glove or a haptic stylus, but not studied for handheld controllers in consumer-grade systems such as the HTC Vive. A straight-line precision steadiness task was adopted in virtual reality to emulate basic linear movements in industrial operations and disability rehabilitation. This study collected the total time and the error time for the straight-line task in both virtual reality and a physical control experiment for 48 participants. The task was performed at four different gap widths, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, and 7mm, to see the effects of virtual reality at different levels of precision. Average error ratios were then calculated and analyzed for strong associations to various factors. The results indicated that a combination of Environment x Gap Width factors significantly affected average error ratios, with a p-value of 0.000. This human factors study also collected participants’ ratings of user experience dimensions, such as difficulty, comfort, strain, reliability, and effectiveness, for both physical and virtual environments in a questionnaire. The results indicate that the ratings for difficulty, reliability, and effectiveness were significantly different, with virtual reality rating consistently rating worse than the physical environment. An analysis of questionnaire responses indicates a significant association of overall environment preference (physical or virtual) with performance data, with a p-value of 0.027. In general, virtual reality yielded higher error among participants. As the difficulty of the task increased, the performance in virtual reality degraded significantly. Virtual reality has great potential for a variety of precision applications, but the technology in consumer-grade hardware must improve significantly to enable these applications. Virtual reality is difficult to implement without previous experience or specialized knowledge in programming, which makes the technology currently inaccessible for many people. Future work is needed to investigate a larger variety of precision tasks and movements to expand the body of knowledge of virtual reality applications for training purposes.

<p>The World Health Organisation estimates that the majority of the disabled population resides in the developing world, but most of the research on outcomes of patients originates from the developed world. In the light of the differences in healthcare structures and function, especially rehabilitation between settings and countries, it is imperative to have an understanding of the&nbsp / functioning of patients at discharge with the objective of measuring the level at which outcomes are met. The aim of this study was therefore to determine the process of rehabilitation and the&nbsp / outcome of patients following in-patient rehabilitation at a facility in the Western Cape. A quantitative research design was employed to address the objectives. Self-administered&nbsp / questionnaires were developed to collate information pertaining to the demographic-, socioeconomic- and medical profile of patients and data extraction sheets collected information relating&nbsp / to the process of rehabilitation and the impairment status of patients on admission. With regards to activity and participation, a longitudinal study design was used, which utilised standardised&nbsp / outcomes measures. The sample consisted of all patients with stroke and spinal cord injury admitted within a three-month period, and all ethical principles relating to research on human&nbsp / subjects, as stipulated in the Helsinki Declaration were adhered to during data collection, with ethical clearance obtained from relevant authorities. The SAS and the Microsoft Excel Package&nbsp / 2007 were used to analyse the quantitative data elements. Descriptive statistics using frequencies, percentages, ranges, means, and standard deviations and inferential statistics using&nbsp / chi-square, student T-tests and correlation tests, for determining the predictors of functional outcome, were calculated. There were 175 patients, whereof 82 were patients with stroke and 93&nbsp / with spinal cord injury, with 143 (76 presenting with spinal cord injury and 67 with stroke) meeting the inclusion criteria on admission. The mean age of those with spinal cord injury and stroke&nbsp / was 34.14 and 52.95 years. Most of the patients with spinal cord injuries were single (73.68%), whereas the majority (53.73%) of patients with strokes were married at the time of injury. All&nbsp / patients were managed by the doctor and the nurse, with most of the patients receiving physiotherapy, occupational therapy and social assistance from the social worker. With regards to recreational activities, 46.87% of patients with spinal cord injury and 39.39% of those with stroke attended the learn to swim programme, and 29.68% of patients with spinal cord injury attended the wheelchair basketball sessions. The mean length of hospital stay for patients with spinal cord injury and stroke was 73.11 and 51. 62 days, with most of the spinal cord injured patients&nbsp / (80.26%) and stroke patients (82.08%) discharged home without follow-up rehabilitation. The most prevalent impairments on admission of the spinal cord injury cohort were muscle&nbsp / weakness (75.0%), bladder incontinence (71.1%) and reduced sensation (69.7%), whereas patients with stroke presented mostly with muscle paralysis (80.6%), abnormal tone (76.1%) and aphasia (50.8%). Functional limitations experienced by the participants included, mobility, stair climbing and transfers. The participants experienced participation restrictions in the following&nbsp / domains, leisure activities and employment. A clinical significant improvement was noted in execution of functional task of patients with spinal cord injury (p&lt / 0.0001) and stroke (p&lt / 0.0001)&nbsp / between admission and discharge. A significant statistical change was also detected for the participation elements of both stroke and spinal cord injury cohorts. Functional ability on&nbsp / admission was found to be a predictor of functional outcome of the stroke diagnostic group at discharge, whereas the multiple&nbsp / redictor model of functional outcome of the spinal cord injured cohort at discharge was significant with remaining variables of functional outcome score on admission (p&lt / 0.0001) and bladder -and bowel impairment(s) (p=0.0247). The study findings suggest that despite the significant change in activity and participation, most of the patients were discharged home without further follow-up for rehabilitation, irrespective of the activity&nbsp / limitations and participation restrictions still experienced at the time of discharge. The latter finding&nbsp / questions the duration of the length of hospital stay, which does not allow patients to be independent in all meaningful activities and participatory actions and roles by the end of inpatient rehabilitation. The study findings could assist authorities to adapt the existing rehabilitation&nbsp / programme and referral process . </p>

<p>The World Health Organisation estimates that the majority of the disabled population resides in the developing world, but most of the research on outcomes of patients originates from the developed world. In the light of the differences in healthcare structures and function, especially rehabilitation between settings and countries, it is imperative to have an understanding of the&nbsp / functioning of patients at discharge with the objective of measuring the level at which outcomes are met. The aim of this study was therefore to determine the process of rehabilitation and the&nbsp / outcome of patients following in-patient rehabilitation at a facility in the Western Cape. A quantitative research design was employed to address the objectives. Self-administered&nbsp / questionnaires were developed to collate information pertaining to the demographic-, socioeconomic- and medical profile of patients and data extraction sheets collected information relating&nbsp / to the process of rehabilitation and the impairment status of patients on admission. With regards to activity and participation, a longitudinal study design was used, which utilised standardised&nbsp / outcomes measures. The sample consisted of all patients with stroke and spinal cord injury admitted within a three-month period, and all ethical principles relating to research on human&nbsp / subjects, as stipulated in the Helsinki Declaration were adhered to during data collection, with ethical clearance obtained from relevant authorities. The SAS and the Microsoft Excel Package&nbsp / 2007 were used to analyse the quantitative data elements. Descriptive statistics using frequencies, percentages, ranges, means, and standard deviations and inferential statistics using&nbsp / chi-square, student T-tests and correlation tests, for determining the predictors of functional outcome, were calculated. There were 175 patients, whereof 82 were patients with stroke and 93&nbsp / with spinal cord injury, with 143 (76 presenting with spinal cord injury and 67 with stroke) meeting the inclusion criteria on admission. The mean age of those with spinal cord injury and stroke&nbsp / was 34.14 and 52.95 years. Most of the patients with spinal cord injuries were single (73.68%), whereas the majority (53.73%) of patients with strokes were married at the time of injury. All&nbsp / patients were managed by the doctor and the nurse, with most of the patients receiving physiotherapy, occupational therapy and social assistance from the social worker. With regards to recreational activities, 46.87% of patients with spinal cord injury and 39.39% of those with stroke attended the learn to swim programme, and 29.68% of patients with spinal cord injury attended the wheelchair basketball sessions. The mean length of hospital stay for patients with spinal cord injury and stroke was 73.11 and 51. 62 days, with most of the spinal cord injured patients&nbsp / (80.26%) and stroke patients (82.08%) discharged home without follow-up rehabilitation. The most prevalent impairments on admission of the spinal cord injury cohort were muscle&nbsp / weakness (75.0%), bladder incontinence (71.1%) and reduced sensation (69.7%), whereas patients with stroke presented mostly with muscle paralysis (80.6%), abnormal tone (76.1%) and aphasia (50.8%). Functional limitations experienced by the participants included, mobility, stair climbing and transfers. The participants experienced participation restrictions in the following&nbsp / domains, leisure activities and employment. A clinical significant improvement was noted in execution of functional task of patients with spinal cord injury (p&lt / 0.0001) and stroke (p&lt / 0.0001)&nbsp / between admission and discharge. A significant statistical change was also detected for the participation elements of both stroke and spinal cord injury cohorts. Functional ability on&nbsp / admission was found to be a predictor of functional outcome of the stroke diagnostic group at discharge, whereas the multiple&nbsp / redictor model of functional outcome of the spinal cord injured cohort at discharge was significant with remaining variables of functional outcome score on admission (p&lt / 0.0001) and bladder -and bowel impairment(s) (p=0.0247). The study findings suggest that despite the significant change in activity and participation, most of the patients were discharged home without further follow-up for rehabilitation, irrespective of the activity&nbsp / limitations and participation restrictions still experienced at the time of discharge. The latter finding&nbsp / questions the duration of the length of hospital stay, which does not allow patients to be independent in all meaningful activities and participatory actions and roles by the end of inpatient rehabilitation. The study findings could assist authorities to adapt the existing rehabilitation&nbsp / programme and referral process . </p>

The objective of this research paper is to elaborate on issues surrounding coope-ration between families with children with disabilities and social workers who provide them with relevant social services. Family represents a core aspect of nurture, and is irreplaceable in the overall child's welfare. It today's society the families are also supported by qualified social workers who help with care for disabled children. There is variety of rehabilitation programs available with qualified professionals providing services that encompass medical, social, and educational qualities. Within these rehabi-litation programs it is necessary that a multidisciplinary, and well-functioning team is established with each professional playing a specific role. In addition, active cooperati-on of all family members is essential. Social services as well as state institutions play a vital role in aiding these families. The goal of this paper is to identify the role of institutions and social workers aiding families with children with disabilities. The research includes organizations whose social services are primarily focused on assisting families with disabled children. Qualitative research was performed to support the empirical portion of this paper. Coll-ection of data was accomplished by interrogations with structured discussions. The examined sample included ten social workers providing services to families with chil-dren with disabilities. The pivotal question was established as part of this research, as follows: To what extend does the complex support of a disabled child include both the family and an institution? A secondary question was posed as follows: How does a fa-mily manage disabled child's welfare in instances where social institutions and workers are not relied upon? The conclusion of the research established that the social workers mainly function as a support system for families with children with disabilities. Social institutions and workers mainly assist to such families with difficult social aspects, providing direction, and laying out options for child's development. However, the key effort lies within the family itself. Additionally, the study established that utilizing of the social workers by the families is advantageous. It was also made clear that it is extremely challenging for families to care for their disabled child on their own.

Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio) / The World Health Organisation estimates that the majority of the disabled population resides in the developing world, but most of the research on outcomes of patients originates from the developed world. In the light of the differences in healthcare structures and function, especially rehabilitation between settings and countries, it is imperative to have an understanding of the functioning of patients at discharge with the objective of measuring the level at which outcomes are met. The aim of this study was therefore to determine the process of rehabilitation and the outcome of patients following in-patient rehabilitation at a facility in the Western Cape. A quantitative research design was employed to address the objectives. Self-administered questionnaires were developed to collate information pertaining to the demographic-, socioeconomic- and medical profile of patients and data extraction sheets collected information relating to the process of rehabilitation and the impairment status of patients on admission. With regards to activity and participation, a longitudinal study design was used, which utilised standardised outcomes measures. The sample consisted of all patients with stroke and spinal cord injury admitted within a three-month period, and all ethical principles relating to research on human subjects, as stipulated in the Helsinki Declaration were adhered to during data collection, with ethical clearance obtained from relevant authorities. The SAS and the Microsoft Excel Package 2007 were used to analyse the quantitative data elements. Descriptive statistics using frequencies, percentages, ranges, means, and standard deviations and inferential statistics using chi-square, student T-tests and correlation tests, for determining the predictors of functional outcome, were calculated. There were 175 patients, whereof 82 were patients with stroke and 93 with spinal cord injury, with 143 (76 presenting with spinal cord injury and 67 with stroke) meeting the inclusion criteria on admission. The mean age of those with spinal cord injury and stroke was 34.14 and 52.95 years. Most of the patients with spinal cord injuries were single (73.68%), whereas the majority (53.73%) of patients with strokes were married at the time of injury. All patients were managed by the doctor and the nurse, with most of the patients receiving physiotherapy, occupational therapy and social assistance from the social worker. With regards to recreational activities, 46.87% of patients with spinal cord injury and 39.39% of those with stroke attended the learn to swim programme, and 29.68% of patients with spinal cord injury attended the wheelchair basketball sessions. The mean length of hospital stay for patients with spinal cord injury and stroke was 73.11 and 51. 62 days, with most of the spinal cord injured patients (80.26%) and stroke patients (82.08%) discharged home without follow-up rehabilitation. The most prevalent impairments on admission of the spinal cord injury cohort were muscle weakness (75.0%), bladder incontinence (71.1%) and reduced sensation (69.7%), whereas patients with stroke presented mostly with muscle paralysis (80.6%), abnormal tone (76.1%) and aphasia (50.8%). Functional limitations experienced by the participants included, mobility, stair climbing and transfers. The participants experienced participation restrictions in the following domains, leisure activities and employment. A clinical significant improvement was noted in execution of functional task of patients with spinal cord injury (p< 0.0001) and stroke (p< 0.0001) between admission and discharge. A significant statistical change was also detected for the participation elements of both stroke and spinal cord injury cohorts. Functional ability on admission was found to be a predictor of functional outcome of the stroke diagnostic group at discharge, whereas the multiple redictor model of functional outcome of the spinal cord injured cohort at discharge was significant with remaining variables of functional outcome score on admission (p<0.0001) and bladder -and bowel impairment(s) (p=0.0247). The study findings suggest that despite the significant change in activity and participation, most of the patients were discharged home without further follow-up for rehabilitation, irrespective of the activity limitations and participation restrictions still experienced at the time of discharge. The latter finding questions the duration of the length of hospital stay, which does not allow patients to be independent in all meaningful activities and participatory actions and roles by the end of inpatient rehabilitation. The study findings could assist authorities to adapt the existing rehabilitation programme and referral process . / South Africa

Introduction This thesis describes a research study designed to examine the consequences of disability arising out of spinal cord compression secondary to cancer, and to examine the rehabilitation services available to patients. Research aims and questions The study was intended to achieve the following: 1. To ascertain what might constitute effective rehabilitation interventions for patients with metastatic spinal cord compression. 2. To identify the conditions in which these intervention might be delivered. 3. To ground proposals in spinal cord compression patients’ experience of disability. The following research questions were posed: 1. What are the consequences of disability for patients with metastatic spinal cord compression? 2. What strategies do patients themselves use to manage disability? 3. What do health care staff, particularly rehabilitation professionals, understand to be the consequences of disability for this patient group, and correspondingly, what are their views on the significance and provision of rehabilitation? 4. To what extent is rehabilitation being provided to these patients, and with what effect? 5. Where rehabilitation is not being provided, why is this the case? Study design The study had two components: • A series of nine in-depth interview-based case studies, which involved talking to patients about their experiences of living with spinal cord compression, as well as gaining the perspectives of family members and the health professionals who provided care and services. • A retrospective audit of the medical records of 73 spinal cord compression patients admitted to a radiotherapy in-patient unit (the Frank Ellis Unit at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford) over a two year period (July 2003 – June 2005), identifying disability-related problems and the measures taken to address them. This was a Phase I modelling study in terms of the Medical Research Council’s framework for evaluating complex interventions, with Pawson and Tilley’s (1997) Context-Mechanism-Outcome configuration adopted as a conceptual basis for data collection. Within-case analysis was informed by George and Bennett’s (2004) account of process tracing, and between-case analysis was modelled on the constant comparative method of Glaser and Strauss (1967) with an analysis of narrative as a variation on that theme. Results Disability is a serious problem for patients with spinal cord compression, but it is one problem among many others, not the least of which are the physical and emotional consequences of life-threatening illness. In response to disability, patients ‘twin-track’ their attitudes to it, acknowledging but also resisting the idea of themselves as disabled, and adopting a series of psychological devices to manage the tension. In effect, patients recognise that something significant has changed and that, as a consequence, new self-management skills must be learned, functional boundaries must be explored, useful information must be sought. At the same time, they display a determination to hold on to an established identity, associated with a sense of normality. This identity embraces the idea of competence and resourcefulness, the events, activities and pleasures that one looks forward to, and the wish to avoid burdening others. It is not a ‘disabled’ identity. To some extent, these two attitudes are in tension, as one acknowledges disability while the other, implicitly or explicitly, resists it. Consequently, patients try to find ways of resolving this tension, by ‘revising downwards’ their expectations, by constantly deferring the anticipated pleasures, and by avoiding situations in which their abilities might be put to the test, or the sense of normality be disconfirmed. Health care professionals are likely to construe the patient’s response as indicative of a certain type of character – ‘realistic’ on one hand, and ‘unrealistic’ on the other. They do not see ‘acknowledging / not acknowledging’ as twin facets of a complex response to circumstances, or as something which every patient engages in to one degree or another. Patients are motivated not to recognise rehabilitation as something they need, a view which is confirmed by the cursory form of rehabilitation experienced in hospital, and by the marginal significance attributed to it by nursing and medical staff. On discharge, hospital staff assume that rehabilitation needs will be identified in the community, although the way in which community rehabilitation services are organised virtually guarantees that this will not happen, unless a specific referral is made (as it is in only 5% of cases). The patient, meanwhile, remains unaware of the potential value of rehabilitation, and has no incentive to request rehabilitation if no-one offers it. They are consequently unprepared for life post-discharge, and assume that they (and their families) must manage on their own. Conclusions Like the patients, health care professionals may have to ‘twin-track’ if they are to provide rehabilitation in a way that is acceptable to patients with metastatic spinal cord compression. Instead of categorising patients as ‘realistic’ or ‘unrealistic’, they should work towards sustaining patients’ ‘positive illusions’, while at the same time taking whatever opportunities arise to enhance the patient’s day-to-day ability to function in a ‘safe’ space. This entails revising some deeply entrenched ideas about working with patients who have a disability: patient-centredness, the importance of goal setting, and the need for adjustment.