Noémie Fortin-Bédard, Félix Nindorera, Jean Leblond
et al.
Introduction: The change in environmental and social context during the COVID-19 pandemic affected daily activities of people with spinal cord injury (SCI), their interactions within the community, and, consequently, their social participation during the first wave of the pandemic. However, there is little information about the changes in social participation as the pandemic evolved in Canada. Objective: Our aim was to explore the change in the social participation of adults with SCI after the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Methods: A follow-up from a previous study exploring the social participation of adults with SCI living during the first wave was conducted eight months later (second wave). Social participation was measured using the Assessment of Life Habits (LIFE-H 4.0) and Measure of Quality of the Environment (MQE) among 18 adults with SCI. Results: Participants reported increases between both waves of COVID-19 in some life habit categories, including mobility, personal care and health, nutrition, and recreation. New environmental factors were identified as facilitators, including the increased availability of businesses in the community. Conclusion: These findings indicate that people with SCI experienced greater realization and satisfaction with certain life habits. Although most barriers and facilitators showed little or no change between the two waves, the reduction in environmental barriers and the increase in facilitators may have contributed to improved social participation as the pandemic progressed.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities
Abstract:
Background: Menstrual pain often caused by prostaglandins, triggering uterine contractions is named as Primary Dysmenorrhea. Perceived stress is stated as an individual’s subjective assessment of the degree to which they feel overwhelmed or unable to cope with the demands of life.
Objective: To determine the level of perceived stress among undergraduate physiotherapy female students with primary dysmenorrhea in Sialkot, Pakistan.
Methodology: This Cross-sectional study included 232 females with primary dysmenorrhea, selected using Simple non-random sampling technique. Inclusion criteria was age (18-25 years), women with normal menstrual cycle lasting between 21 to 35 days, low back pain that begins one day before the menstrual cycle and lasts for 6-12 hours after the start of menstrual cycle, and leads to 3 days of bleeding in last 3 menstrual cycles whereas polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), amenorrhea, use of oral contraceptives, use of intrauterine devices, pregnancy and secondary dysmenorrhea were excluded from the study. The outcome measuring tool was Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). The data was analyzed using SPSS software 22 and interpreted as frequencies and percentages.
Results: Out of 232 participants the mean age was (21.34± S.D 1.49 years). The majority of the participants were unmarried (N=206, 88.8%). Most of the participants (N=138, 59.5%) had normal Body Mass Index, (N=131, 56.5%) had healthy diet with maximum sleep duration of 12 hours. Most of the participants had 3-5 days of menstrual bleeding (N=188, 81.0%), moderate menstrual flow (N=182, 78.4%), 21-35 days of menstrual cycle length (N=169, 72.8%) and menarche at the age of 13 years (N=57, 24.6%). The Participant’s mean score of perceived stress scale was (22.10± S.D 5.92).
Conclusion: The study concluded that students with primary dysmenorrhea had moderate level of perceived stress.
Keywords: Menarche, Primary Dysmenorrhea, Perceived Stress
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities, Therapeutics. Psychotherapy
Amani Karisa, Mchungwani Rashid, Zakayo Wanjihia
et al.
Persons with disabilities face barriers to accessing sexuality education. For those who identify as queer, these challenges are compounded by stigma, ableism, and heteronormativity, resulting in distinct and overlooked experiences. This study explored the sexuality education needs of persons with disabilities who identify as queer in Kenya—a neglected demographic—using a phenomenological approach. Data were collected through a focus group discussion with six participants and analyzed thematically. Three themes emerged: invisibility and erasure; unprepared institutions and constrained support networks; and agency and everyday resistance. Educational institutions often overlook the intersectional needs of persons with disabilities who identify as queer, leaving them without adequate tools to navigate relationships, sexuality, and rights. Support systems are often unprepared or unwilling to address these needs. Societal attitudes that desexualize disability and marginalize queerness intersect to produce compounded exclusion. Despite these challenges, participants demonstrated agency by using digital spaces and informal networks to resist exclusion. This calls for policy reforms that move beyond tokenism to address the lived realities of multiply marginalized groups. Policy reform means not only a legal or governmental shift but also a broader cultural and institutional process that creates space for recognition, protection, and participation.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities
Background Young adults with disabilities face significant challenges to securing competitive employment. Soft skills deficiencies have been identified as a significant contributor to unemployment and under employment of young adults with disabilities. Objective This study examined the effectiveness and feasibility of an employment-related small group soft skill development program (“Soft Skills at Work”) for young adults with disabilities seeking employment. Methods The program included four soft skills training modules “Presenting Qualifications”, “Conversing with Others”, “Asking for Help”, “Responding to Feedback”. Each module included four sessions designed to improve one targeted work-related soft skill. Thirty-three young adults with disabilities receiving vocational and mental health services from community-based agencies participated the study. Participant wage information and other employment outcome measures were collected at baseline, post-intervention and 6-month-post-intervention. Participant satisfaction surveys for each module were also collected. Results Results of the program yielded high satisfaction among participants and significant changes in work self-efficacy and job-related social skills. Conclusion Young adult employment seekers with disabilities could benefit from participation in the soft skills intervention “Soft Skills At Work.”
Exoskeletons play a crucial role in assisting patients with varying mobility levels during rehabilitation. However, existing control strategies face challenges such as imprecise trajectory tracking, interaction torque oscillations, and limited adaptability to diverse patient conditions. To address these issues, this paper proposes an assist-as-needed (AAN) control algorithm that integrates a human-robot coupling dynamics model, a human torque-momentum observer (HTMO), and an adaptive parameter controller (APC). The algorithm first employs inverse dynamics to compute the joint torques required for the rehabilitation trajectory. The HTMO then estimates the torque exerted by the patient's joints and determines the torque error, which the exoskeleton compensates for via a spring-damper system, ultimately generating the target trajectory. Finally, the APC ensures adaptive assistive control. The proposed method is validated for its effectiveness in MATLAB/Simulink.
Halil Ismail Helvaci, Justin Philip Huber, Jihye Bae
et al.
Stroke rehabilitation often demands precise tracking of patient movements to monitor progress, with complexities of rehabilitation exercises presenting two critical challenges: fine-grained and sub-second (under one-second) action detection. In this work, we propose the High Resolution Temporal Transformer (HRTR), to time-localize and classify high-resolution (fine-grained), sub-second actions in a single-stage transformer, eliminating the need for multi-stage methods and post-processing. Without any refinements, HRTR outperforms state-of-the-art systems on both stroke related and general datasets, achieving Edit Score (ES) of 70.1 on StrokeRehab Video, 69.4 on StrokeRehab IMU, and 88.4 on 50Salads.
This paper presents the development of a wearable ankle rehabilitation robot based on a 3-RRR spherical parallel mechanism (SPM) to support multi-DOF recovery through pitch, roll, and yaw motions. The system features a compact, ergonomic structure designed for comfort, safety, and compatibility with ankle biomechanics. A complete design-to-dynamics pipeline has been implemented, including structural design, kinematic modeling for motion planning, and Lagrangian-based dynamic modeling for torque estimation and simulation analysis. Preliminary simulations verify stable joint coordination and smooth motion tracking under representative rehabilitation trajectories. The control framework is currently being developed to enhance responsiveness across the workspace. Future work will focus on integrating personalized modeling and adaptive strategies to address kinematic singularities through model based control. This work establishes a foundational platform for intelligent, personalized ankle rehabilitation, enabling both static training and potential extension to gait-phase-timed assistance.
The main purpose of the paper is development, implementation, and testing of a low-cost portable system to assist partially paralyzed patients in their hand rehabilitation after strokes or some injures. Rehabilitation includes time consuming and repetitive exercises which are costly and demotivating as well as the requirements of clinic attending and direct supervision of physiotherapists. In this work, the system consists of a graphical user interface (GUI) on a smartphone screen to instruct and motivate the patients to do their exercises by themselves. Through the GUI, the patients are instructed to do a sequence of exercises step by step, and the system measures the electrical activities (electromyographic signals EMG) of the user's forearm muscles by Myo armband. Depending on d database, the system can tell whether the patients have done correct movements or not. If a correct movement is detected, the system will inform the user through the GUI and move to the next exercise. For preliminary results, the system was extensively tested on a healthy person.
Michele Cantarella, Maria Cristina Maurizio, Francesco Serti
This paper evaluates the short and medium-term effectiveness of payroll tax reductions aimed at promoting the permanent conversion of temporary contracts through social contribution exemptions. Using rich administrative data from Tuscany, providing detailed employment histories, we exploit a unique change in eligibility criteria in 2018 to estimate the causal impact of these exemptions. We find that the incentives immediately increased the probability of conversion, with no evidence of substitution against non-eligible cohorts. However, these positive effects were short-lived and appear to reflect anticipated conversions. Indeed, in the medium term, we find no persistent effects on a broad set of employment outcomes -- including whether the worker remains in the same permanent job, holds any permanent position, continues working in the same firm or sector, and how long has kept working -- and no evidence of heterogeneous effects across firm or worker characteristics.
Background: Climate change and disability are rarely addressed by academic scholars within the spectrum of disabilities and as a single field of study. However, the intersectionality of disability exacerbates the vulnerability of people with disabilities to climate change as climate change frameworks in the Global North and South continue excluding them.
Objectives: This study aims to map the research-based knowledge housed in Scopus on disability and climate change. At the same time, it provides insights into innovative (novelty) ways of thinking and proposes a futuristic research agenda.
Method: A bibliometric analysis was conducted on Scopus-indexed articles using VOSviewer to map co-occurrences of keywords and co-authorship, and a manual thematic-scoping review augmented the data analysis.
Results: The disability and climate change debate as a joint study evolved from concern among health practitioners to human rights and social inclusion.
Conclusion: In conclusion, there is a skewness towards mental health and medical sociology lens, while other sub-groups of persons with disabilities are yet to be engaged in co-creating disability-inclusive climate change knowledge.
Contribution: Thematic areas emerged as gaps that future studies embed principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities, Communities. Classes. Races
Umara Iftikhar Rana, Amina Irfan, Sumbal Saleem
et al.
BACKGROUND:
Mothers are advised to use the cradle hold and cross-cradle hold positions for breastfeeding (BF) for the benefit of both mother and child.
OBJECTIVE:
This study aimed to compare the breastfeeding positions (cross-cradle hold and cradle hold) related to musculoskeletal neck pain among lactating mothers
METHODOLOGY:
This comparative cross-sectional study was carried out at Imran Idress Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences, Sialkot from January 2023. A convenient sampling technique was used. The data was collected from 204 lactating mothers of aged 18-40 years. Self-structured section of the questionnaire comprised of demographic and breastfeeding-related features from lactating mothers and Numeric pain rating scale were used to compare the breastfeeding position and musculoskeletal neck pain among lactating mothers. SPSS version 22 was used for data analysis.
RESULTS:
The results of this study indicated that the mean age of lactating mothers among participants of group A was 29.83yr± 3.78 and in group B was 28.61yr± 4.76 Independent t-test showed a significant difference of p-value= 0.00 at significance level 0.05 respectively Comparing the means of both groups, lactating mothers with cradle hold Breast feeding position-related MSK neck pain (group A) were more affected than cross cradle hold BF position related MSK neck pain (group B).
CONCLUSION:
This study concluded that MSK neck pain was more affected in cross cradle hold breastfeeding position than the cradle holds breastfeeding position
KEYWORDS:
Breast feeding, Cross Cradle, Neck Pain, Lactating Mother
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities, Therapeutics. Psychotherapy
Sidra Shabbir , Rabia Zubair , Sajeela Aatif
et al.
Background: Language is an excellent and convenient means of communication. Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) measures linguistic productivity in children.
Objectives: to find the mean length of utterance in words and lexical diversity among children aged 3-3.11 years typically developing Urdu-speaking.
Methods: The data of n=100 children of both genders of age between (3 to 3.11 years) who performed on blank levels 1 and 2 was collected through a cross-sectional survey. The data was collected from daycare centers and schools in Rawalpindi and Islamabad from November 2022 to June 2023. MLU calculation procedure was carried out through activities from ICW and Blank Level. For the calculation of MLU, the formula was used.
Results: The Mean Length of Utterance at word level (MLUw)of children aged between 3 to 3.11 years was 3.43. In lexical diversity (LD) children have used Nouns (NN) most abundantly as 55% of Verbs (VB) with 35% Tense Auxiliaries (TA)30%.
Conclusion: It is found that children's MLUw of 3.43 between the ages of 3 and 4 indicates an increase in speech complexity. Nouns, verbs, and tense auxiliaries have been recognized as the main elements via lexical analysis.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities
Tapson Mashanyare, Tendayi C. Garutsa, Kiran Odhav
Background: Disability and sexuality are topical issues although they are not given much-deserved attention in most societies, and Zimbabwe is not an exception. The socio-cultural stigma associated with disability adversely impacts sexuality and seeps into the social existence of youth with disability. Youths with disability are assumed to be hypersexual or asexual.
Objectives: This article explores the sexuality views and experiences of youth with disability in the context of the negative stigma associated with disability and sexuality in Gweru, Zimbabwe.
Method: Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted among 20 Gweru youth (18–35 years old) with physical disabilities and five key informants. Perceptions of youth with disability and socio-cultural assumptions regarding their sexuality were analysed.
Results: The study established that most youths with disability faced social closure in terms of sexuality, with sparse offerings of sexuality education in their families. One sexual education theme that emerged from this study is sexual abstinence. Some suggestions of more open forms of communication on sexuality and disability also emerged although as a minority view.
Conclusion: It was concluded from the study that, most youth feel that they are denied information on sexuality in their families and communities, as they are wrongfully assumed to have no need for it. However, youths with disability do not passively accept the negative perceptions about their sexuality, and they demonstrate their agency in resisting such negative perceptions.
Contribution: The study contributes to knowledge on sexuality and disability among youths with disability in contexts where strong traditional beliefs, myths, and misconceptions exist.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities, Communities. Classes. Races
Borbála Bányai, Andrea Perlusz, Tünde Bodorné Németh
Objective: Employment is a major area of life for adults, including people with disabilities. The aim of our study is to understand the conditions and support opportunities that determine the career paths of people with hearing impairment in the labour market. The search was conducted in March 2024, and the articles covered 7 different countries. Methods: We conducted a systematic review by searching the Web of Science, Elsevier, and EBSCO databases for relevant citations from 2006. We chose this date because of the advent of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), which has contributed to a major paradigm shift in the social inclusion and integration of persons with disabilities, including those with hearing impairments. The focus of the search was on career orientation, career guidance, lifelong guidance and vocational rehabilitation of people with hearing impairment. The authors summarise the results of 14 studies that met the objectives of the study. Results: We have chosen seven different focal points for the content analyses of the articles. The legal framework for employment is adequate in the surveyed countries. The successful retention of people with hearing impairment in the workplace, whether congenital or acquired, requires not only a change in the environmental conditions, but also a supportive attitude on the part of the employee, the colleagues and the bosses. Discussion: Our systematic review has identified the most important aspects influencing the subjective situation and objective circumstances of hearing-impaired individuals, as well as the services available to support their integration into the labour market. Overall, the medical, social and human rights models of disability can be seen in the way individual aspects and services operate
This systematic review assessed the current state and future prospects of artificial intelligence (AI) in schizophrenia rehabilitation management. We reviewed 61 studies on AI-related data types, feature engineering methods, algorithmic models, and evaluation metrics published from 2012-2024. The review categorizes AI applications into the following key application areas: symptom monitoring, medication management, risk management, functional training, and psychosocial support. Findings indicate that supervised machine learning techniques, particularly for symptom monitoring and relapse risk management, remain the predominant approaches, effectively leveraging structured data while incorporating interpretable algorithms. This study underscores the potential of AI in transforming long-term management strategies for schizophrenia, offering valuable insights into improving the quality of life of patients. Future research should focus on expanding data sources through multimodal data integration, exploring deep learning models, and integrating AI-driven interventions into training tasks to fully capitalize on AI's potential in schizophrenia rehabilitation.
Kirsten J. Talbot, Esedra Krüger, Bhavani S. Pillay
Background: Healthcare professionals may have a preconceived idea about life after an acquired brain injury (ABI). Understanding lived experiences of individuals with ABI and their significant others, post-hospitalisation, may improve communication between healthcare professionals and individuals directly influenced by the ABI.
Objective: To describe perceived experiences of individuals with ABI, and their significant others, regarding rehabilitation services and returning to daily activities, one-month post-discharge from acute hospitalisation.
Method: Semi-structured interviews, via an online platform, expanded on the experiences of six dyads (individuals with an ABI and their significant others). Data were thematically analysed.
Results: Six main themes emerged that best described participants’ experiences; two of which were shared between individuals with ABI and their significant others (SO). Individuals with an ABI acknowledged recovery as their priority and highlighted the importance of patience. The need for counselling and additional support from healthcare professionals and peers arose. The SO expressed a need for written information, improved communication from healthcare professionals, and education regarding the implications of an ABI. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic negatively influenced all participants’ overall experiences, mainly because of termination of visiting hours. Psychosocial intervention would have been beneficial to all participants. Faith influenced most participants’ attitudes towards recovery and adapting post-ABI.
Conclusion: Most participants accepted their new reality but required additional support to cope emotionally. Individuals with an ABI would benefit from opportunities to share experiences with and learn from others in a similar situation. Streamlined services and improved communication may alleviate anxiety among families during this crucial transitional period.
Contribution: This article provides valuable information on the perspectives and experiences of individuals with ABI and their significant others during the transition from acute hospitalisation. The findings can assist with the continuity of care, integrative health and supportive strategies during the transition period post-ABI.
Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities, Communities. Classes. Races
Kiana Hosseinzadeh, Iraj Mohammadfam, Ahmad Soltanzadeh
et al.
Objectives: This study aims to develop and create a tool based on factor analysis to assess safety culture in the processing industry.
Methods: This study was conducted in the petrochemical industry in 2021. The questionnaires were distributed among 312 employees, supervisors, and managers, and 308 of them were completed. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed by content and construct validity (confirmatory factor analysis), and its reliability was determined by calculating the internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach’s α) and conducting a pilot study. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the relationship between the dimensions of safety culture and the dimensions themselves.
Results: The results showed that 62.4% of participants were under 45 years old and 71.2% of them had more than 10 years of work experience. The obtained content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) were 0.88 and 0.91, respectively. The results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed that six questions were assigned to each dimension of safety culture in the questionnaire. The results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with a P of 0.001 and the overall goodness index of root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) of 0.07 and the goodness indices of adaptive fit, including good fit index (GFI), comparative fit index (CFI), and normal fit index (NFI) were 0.95, 0.97, and 0.95, respectively.
Discussion: Based on the results, a safety culture assessment instrument was developed, including 10 dimensions and 60 items. The results of factor analysis showed that the built-in instrument is highly useful to assess safety culture. In addition, these results showed that safety culture has the strongest relationship with the priority of focusing on health, safety, and environment (HSE) and the weakest relationship with the dimension of collaboration and involvement.
Coresponding author: Iraj Mohammadfam, E-mail: mohammadfam@umsha.ac.ir
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Medicine, Vocational rehabilitation. Employment of people with disabilities
Petar Radanliev, David De Roure, Peter Novitzky
et al.
Despite the proliferation of Blockchain Metaverse projects, the inclusion of physically disabled individuals in the Metaverse remains distant, with limited standards and regulations in place. However, the article proposes a concept of the Metaverse that leverages emerging technologies, such as Virtual and Augmented Reality, and the Internet of Things, to enable greater engagement of disabled creatives. This approach aims to enhance inclusiveness in the Metaverse landscape. Based on the findings, the paper concludes that the active involvement of physically disabled individuals in the design and development of Metaverse platforms is crucial for promoting inclusivity. The proposed framework for accessibility and inclusiveness in Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed realities of decentralised Metaverses provides a basis for the meaningful participation of disabled creatives. The article emphasises the importance of addressing the mechanisms for art production by individuals with disabilities in the emerging Metaverse landscape. Additionally, it highlights the need for further research and collaboration to establish standards and regulations that facilitate the inclusion of physically disabled individuals in Metaverse projects.