Disabled Persons

The social model of disability has demonstrated political success for disabled people in society. At the same time, it has been labelled an outdated ideology in need of further development. While the social model of disability has been used successfully for political activism, it has simultaneously created conflict and tensions in disability studies, sociology and the sociology of the body. This article sheds light on the confusion surrounding the social model of disability by discussing the historical emergence of its different forms. It then proceeds to analyse and evaluate key criticisms of the social model of disability. The article then goes on to explore the relevance of different forms of power to the current discourse on disability before proceeding to explore in depth what might be gained from the approach of one particular theorist on power; Hannah Arendt. It suggests that there may be merit in drawing on Arendt and illustrates some of the benefits of a more nuanced idea o...

Background The interrater reliability of 2 new inpatient functional short-form measures, Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care (AM-PAC) “6-Clicks” basic mobility and daily activity scores, has yet to be established. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the interrater reliability of AM-PAC “6-Clicks” measures. Design A prospective observational study was conducted. Methods Four pairs of physical therapists rated basic mobility and 4 pairs of occupational therapists rated daily activity of patients in 1 of 4 hospital services. One therapist in a pair was the primary therapist directing the assessment while the other therapist observed. Each therapist was unaware of the other's AM-PAC “6-Clicks” scores. Reliability was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), Bland-Altman plots, and weighted kappa. Results The ICCs for the overall reliability of basic mobility and daily activity were .849 (95% confidence interval [CI]=.784, .895) and .783 (95% CI=.696,...

This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in a sample of 226 women with disabilities living in four different districts of Bangladesh. It also explored the physical and psychological suffering of women experiencing violence and their various coping strategies. A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 226 women with disabilities to measure the prevalence of IPV, and 16 in-depth interviews were conducted to document in detail the experiences of violence encountered by the abused women. Among the 226 women interviewed in the survey, about 84% reported ever having experienced at least one act of emotional abuse, physical, or sexual violence from their partner during their lifetime. Women who were older (aged above 32 years), separated, and members of economic/savings group were more likely to report ever having experienced any IPV than women with disabilities who were younger (aged 32 years and less), married, and not members of economic/sav...

Stress responses in athletes can be attributed to training and competition, where increased physiological and psychological stress may negatively affect performance and recovery. To examine the relationship between training load (TL) and salivary biomarkers immunoglobulin A (IgA), alpha-amylase (AA), and cortisol across a 16-wk preparation phase and 10-d competition phase in Paralympic swimmers. Four Paralympic swimmers provided biweekly saliva samples during 3 training phases-(1) normal training, (2) intensified training, and (3) taper-as well as daily saliva samples in the 10-d Paralympic competition (2016 Paralympic Games). TL was measured using session rating of perceived exertion. Multilevel analysis identified a significant increase in salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA: 94.98 [27.69] μg·mL), salivary alpha-amylase (sAA: 45.78 [19.07] μg·mL), and salivary cortisol (7.92 [2.17] nM) during intensified training concurrent with a 38.3% increase in TL. During the taper phase, a 49.5% ...

As part of the Closing the Quality Gap: Revisiting the State of the Science series of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), this systematic review sought to identify completed and ongoing evaluations of the comprehensive patient-centered medical home (PCMH), summarize current evidence for this model, and identify evidence gaps. We searched PubMed®, CINAHL®, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for published English-language studies, and a wide variety of databases and Web resources to identify ongoing or recently completed studies. Two investigators per study screened abstracts and full-text articles for inclusion, abstracted data, and performed quality ratings and evidence grading. Our functional definition of PCMH was based on the definition used by AHRQ. We included studies that explicitly claimed to be evaluating PCMH and those that did not but which met our functional definition. Seventeen studies with comparison groups evaluated the effects of PCMH ...

The discomfort reported by the general public at the prospect of personal contact with marginalised groups is an expression of the stigma they experience. This has been widely studied in relation to ethnic minorities and immigrants but less so for persons with disabilities. A national survey with a representative sample of over 1100 Irish adults provided an opportunity to examine reported discomfort with persons who had different impairments, including mental health conditions, with four other minority groups. Moreover, the personal and situational variables associated with expressions of discomfort were identified. Respondents were most comfortable having persons with physical and sensorial disabilities living in their neighbourhood or in their workplace but less so for persons with intellectual disabilities and even less for people with mental health conditions. They were much less comfortable with the four other social groups: gay, lesbian or bisexual people; Eastern European mig...

This paper analyses equity in health and healthcare utilization in Afghanistan based on a representative national household survey. Equitable access is a cornerstone of the Afghan health policy. We measured socioeconomic-related equity in access to public health care, using disability--because people with disabilities are poorer and more likely to use health care--and a concentration index (CI) and its decomposition. The socioeconomic-related equity in healthcare utilization was measured using a probit model and compared with an OLS model providing the horizontal inequity index (HI). We found a low rate of healthcare facilities utilization (25%). Disabled persons are using more healthcare facilities and have higher medical expenses. Disability is more frequently associated with older age, unemployed heads of household and lower education. The Cl of disability is 0.0221 indicating a pro-rich distribution of health. This pro-rich effect is higher in small households (CI decreases with...

Summary Toy libraries have become a favoured way of providing a service to families in which there is a mentally handicapped child. The purpose of this study was to gain information about how parents valued the service provided by the toy library at Honeylands Family Support Unit. Parents expressed a great deal of satisfaction with the service. Suggestions are made as to how it could be further improved and about the desirability of it being extended to school-aged children.

Individuals with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable in evacuation emergencies, and they face numerous challenges accessing resources for response and recovery.The aim of this study was to compare the preparedness behaviors of households with and without special-needs members.A random-digit-dial telephone survey was conducted of 501 adults in southeastern Pennsylvania in 2008. The survey instrument gathered data on sociodemographic characteristics, disability status/functional limitations, and preparedness behaviors related to an evacuation emergency. Analyses were conducted in 2009 and included multiple logistic regressions. Data were weighted to correct for unequal probabilities of selection and response.Nineteen percent (n=95) of respondents reported living in a household in which someone had a transportation-related special need requiring assistance in case of an emergency. Households with a special-needs member had greater odds of having arranged a place to meet (OR=2.2; 95% CI=1.26, 3.88); located a shelter (OR=1.8; 95% CI=1.05, 3.24); or packed a bag (OR=1.8; 95% CI=1.02, 3.21). No significant differences were identified with respect to awareness of evacuation routes, purchasing of food and water, or creation of an emergency plan to guide evacuation decision-making.Despite both greater vulnerability to disaster and numerous messages by governmental and nongovernmental organizations, households with special-needs members are not more likely to engage in time-consuming preparedness behaviors such as planning and buying. Understanding the motivations and behaviors of special-needs groups is critical to designing informed risk-communication messages and interventions to bolster the preparedness of the most vulnerable populations.

The paper presents a novel control approach for the robot-assisted motion augmentation of disabled subjects during the standing-up manoeuvre. The main goal of the proposal is to integrate the voluntary activity of a person in the control scheme of the rehabilitation robot. The algorithm determines the supportive force to be tracked by a robot force controller. The basic idea behind