OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of mobility loss on instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and socioeconomic status in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. METHODS Participants were active registrants in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis registry completing the Fall 2006 (IADL analysis, n = 10,396) or Spring 2007 (socioeconomic analysis, n = 8180) surveys. Cross...

Public transport is a potentially important part of independent living for older people, but they are over-represented in non-collision bus injuries. This paper reports on a computational modelling approach to addressing this problem: the Madymo human model validated for simulating passive, seated vehicle occupants was adapted to simulate a standing passenger in an accelerating bus. The force/d...

This report describes a pilot study made as a starting point for the functional specification of powered upper-limb prostheses. A list of tasks, intended to cover all the activities of normal adult daily life (excluding jobs or recreations), was compiled. They were scored by a small group of able-bodied subjects for importance in independent living, so that design analysis would be simplified b...

The aim of this qualitative study was to deepen the knowledge of how individuals with schizophrenia themselves describe what they need in order to increase their well-being in everyday life. Seven patients were interviewed. An open explorative approach was applied and grounded theory was used for the analysis resulting in five categories illustrating how patients with schizophrenia handle their...

OBJECTIVE To assess personal autonomy of long-stay psychiatric inpatients, to identify those patients who could be discharged and to evaluate the impact of sociodemographic variables, social functioning, and physical disabilities on their autonomy was also assessed. METHODS A total of 584 long-stay individuals of a psychiatric hospital (96% of the hospital population) in Southern Brazil was a...

We present the current work on posture and movement recognition in the European FP7 project CONFIDENCE – Ubiquitous Care System to Support Independent Living. CONFIDENCE aims at providing care for the elderly using radio tags attached to the body. The part of the project described in this paper deals with the reconstruction and interpretation of the user’s behavior in order to raise an alarm or...

From the earliest recorded history, people with disabilities have been ostracized, rejected, and discriminated against in society. Although social work has a history rich in advocacy for oppressed people, the profession has been hesitant to become involved with people with disabilities. This article addresses historical and contemporary issues concerning disability. Recent developments in the d...

Very little information is available on the role of occupational therapy in the care of cancer patients who are being actively treated for metastatic disease. To gain information on occupational therapy assessment and treatment procedures, we reviewed the records of 54 adult inpatients who received occupational therapy services during a hospital admission. We found that assessment focused on in...

We are facing significant changes in healthcare. Its role is extending from treatment to prevention and remote patient monitoring and up to health maintenance through fitness, weight management and in general healthier lifestyle. Healthcare is enlarging its scope beyond the patient domain and is including the support to people with special needs such as elderly and disabled for an independent l...

AIM The aim of the study was to compare costs and consequences for an integrated care pathway intervention group with those of a usual care group for patients admitted with hip fracture. BACKGROUND Rehabilitation for patients with hip fracture consists of training in hospital and/or in a rehabilitation unit, and on their own at home with assistance from community care staff. It is important f...