In this study, we examined associations between assistive technology (AT) cost, underwriting, ownership, use, employment, and employer accommodations for two groups (civilian and veteran) of working age adults (18-64 yr) with spinal cord injury or dysfunction (SCI/D). The project included the development of a survey instrument, and initial findings indicate that AT is important for the employme...

Disability is understood by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the outcome of the interaction between a health condition and personal and environmental factors. Comprehensive data about environmental factors is therefore essential to understand and influence disability. We aimed to identify which environmental factors have the highest impact on the performance of people with mild, moderate ...

OBJECTIVE To determine and compare self-management methods used for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis and to determine which methods patients consider most effective. METHODS Patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis were questioned about self-management methods and asked to indicate the most effective ones. RESULTS Twenty-seven patients with osteoarthritis and 26 with rhe...

In this state-funded study of the impact of faith community nursing, 1,061 notes regarding 713 older adults were retrieved from 75 faith community nurses. Critical contacts were mapped using the Data, Interpretation, Action, Response, and Yield (DIARY) charting format. DIARY notes revealed that disabilities were seemingly avoided when reluctant older adults were coaxed to access care before the...

The purpose was to explore the personal experiences of children with physical disabilities in physical education (PE) and to identify supporting and limiting mechanisms to their inclusion and empowerment. A computerized analysis of individual profiles was performed based on in-depth interviews with 8 females and 2 males, ages 9 to 15, who were included in regular PE classes. Two individual prof...

The effects of task-repetitive locomotor training on stroke patients' spatial and temporal gait parameters during unassisted walking are not well understood. This study determined the effects of treadmill aerobic exercise (T-EX) on spatial and temporal gait parameters that underlie changes in overground walking function. Thirty-nine subjects with hemiparetic stroke underwent T-EX three times we...

Assistive technologies (AT) are tools that enhance the independence, safety, and quality of life of older people with functional limitations. While AT may extend independence in ageing, there are racial and ethnic disparities in late-life AT use, with lower rates reported among Hispanic older populations. The aim of this study was to identify barriers experienced by Hispanic community-living ol...

In assistive devices for neuro-rehabilitation, natural human motions are partly restricted by the device. This may affect the normality of walking during training. This research determines effects on gait of fixating the pelvis translations in the horizontal plane during treadmill walking. Direct effects on the motion of the pelvis and external forces acting on the pelvis were measured. Several...

OBJECTIVE To gain insight into the contribution of the occupational-therapy part of a multidisciplinary fall prevention programme towards the reduction of falls and functional decline. DESIGN A descriptive and exploratory study. METHODS Data were collected in the context of a randomized controlled trial that found no effect of a multidisciplinary fall prevention programme. The study populat...