Disability and rehabilitation
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To describe the development of a conceptual framework for cultural competence that could help and guide the training of rehabilitation practitioners, students and researchers. ⋯ The empirically validated conceptual framework is a promising tool for training and evaluation of cultural competence.
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Complications of surgical incision include pathological scars with functional, cosmetic or psychological consequences. Postsurgical scar assessment is fundamental for a complete functional evaluation and as an outcome measure. Scar assessment scales are here reviewed and discussed from a clinical and psychometric point of view, with a clear definition of different scar parameters. ⋯ To date, VSS is the most widely used rating scale for scars but POSAS appears the most comprehensive, taking into account the important aspect of patient's perspective. The MSS has been never used for research, while SBSES has only been very recently proposed.
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The diagnosis of a life-threatening illness can be an extremely stressful, traumatic experience. However, many survivors report also various positive changes, referred in empirical literature as post-traumatic growth (PTG). Empirical studies that documented stress disorders and PTG in patients and survivors of life-threatening diseases are reviewed in three areas: Predictors of PTG, relationships between PTG and indicators of mental health and the impact of PTG on the process of convalescence. ⋯ The results point to the potential adaptive significance of PTG. More research is needed to investigate specific disease-related profiles of PTG and the complex mechanisms, which underlie the relationships between PTG and the process of convalescence. This knowledge may help to foster the overall positive adjustment of chronically ill patients.
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Multicenter Study
Towards an ICF-based clinical measure of functioning in people with ankylosing spondylitis: a methodological exploration.
To explore whether it is possible to construct clinical measures of functioning for patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) by integrating information obtained across categories of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). ⋯ For the first time, it has been shown that clinical measures of functioning, in principle, can be constructed based on the comprehensive ICF framework covering body functions and structures and activities and participation domains. The results of this investigation are preliminary and must be validated, but they are promising and can contribute to the acceptance and usefulness of the ICF in clinical practice.
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Phantom limb pain is chronic and intractable. Recently, virtual reality (VR) and motion capture technology has replicated the mirror box device of Ramachandran (Ramachandran et al. Nature 1995, 377, 489-490; Ramachandran and Rogers-Ramachandran Proc R Soc Biol Sci 1996, 263, 377-386) and led to reductions in this pain. We present results from a novel variation on this method which captures motion data directly from a patient's stump (rather than using the opposite remaining limb) and then transforms it into goal directed, virtual action enacted by an avatar in a VR environment. ⋯ This technique, which has shown similar success rates to trials of a virtual mirror box, is relatively cheap and portable, and will allow further trials in a home environment.