Disability and rehabilitation
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The purpose of this study was to determine if independent raters would arrive at similar decisions about which codes from the Activities and Participation component of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) to assign to children with disabilities based on the results of standard paediatric functional assessment measures. ⋯ Independent raters reached high rates of agreement when assessment test items were structured developmentally and corresponded to a single ICF code. For domains other than Self care, alternative assessment strategies may be necessary to improve assigning ICF codes to children with disabilities.
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Comparative Study
The health-related quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS.
The prevalence of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA) in South Africa is estimated to be approximately 14.2% of the total population. In the absence of anti-retroviral therapy, PLWA are likely to experience a steady decline in function, as their immune systems become increasingly compromised. However, there is limited information available to determine the potential role of rehabilitation interventions in the management of PLWA in a resource-poor community. ⋯ Self-reporting indicates that Health Related Quality of Life is severely comprised in PLWA in Stages 3 and 4 and limitations in the four domains of mobility, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression constitute major problems for PLWA. There is an obvious need to provide a continuum of care, encompassing not only medical but also physical and mental rehabilitation services as well. In an area of high HIV prevalence, the provision of appropriate, multi-disciplinary health care services to PLWA presents a major challenge to the health services.
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This research examined the long-term outcomes of rehabilitation patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). ⋯ Our findings document health and function in a large post acute TBI population and implications for rehabilitation are discussed.