Disability and rehabilitation
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The general problem of 'getting past the statistical referee' has been recognised in many journals over a long period of time. The purpose of this article is to help authors in the review process, and to give the journal better statistical credentials. ⋯ By using these criteria authors should be better equipped to deal with statistical issues that might arise.
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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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The present study aimed to measure the internal consistency, inter-rater-reliability and validity of the World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS II) for its application to stroke patients and their closest others. ⋯ The WHODAS II is a valid, generally reliable and useful instrument for the assessment of stroke patients over the first year after stroke.
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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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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.