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Biomedical subjects

Patricia Minnes

Publications and source records attributed to Patricia Minnes.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

'Participate to learn': a promising practice for community ABI rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: To identify best practices and promising practices to enhance participation in meaningful and productive activities. METHOD: An electronic search of the ABI rehabilitation research literature since 1990 yielded 974 articles of which 30 focused on interventions that targeted participation and evaluated effectiveness using direct measures of participation. Three reviewers rated these articles according to the standards set out by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. Following the systematic review, an interpretive review of the same articles was completed. RESULTS: Only three studies were rated as strong. No best practices were identified. Three promising practices found some support. The interpretive review suggested 'Participate to learn' as a useful rehabilitation model. The model rests on roles as goals, learning by experience in real-life contexts and the use of personal and environmental support to enable participation. CONCLUSIONS: 'Participate to learn' is both a credible rehabilitation model and deserving of more study.

Brain Injuries↗

Community integration: a useful construct, but what does it really mean?

The primary objective of this paper is to contribute to a clearer understanding of the construct of community integration. Rehabilitation literature is discussed in relation to three measures of community integration: the AIMS Interview, Community Integration Measure and Community Integration Questionnaire. Results of a principal components analysis with varimax rotation indicated that the measures are independent and coherent. Significant correlations were not found between total scores on the three measures and problem behaviour or quality of life. However, analysis of individual items on the scales yielded one significant correlation between the first item on the Community Integration Measure (i.e. sense of belonging) and quality of life. The need for a clear statement in future research regarding the definition of community integration is emphasized, and inclusion of both subjective perceptions and objective indicators of community integration is recommended.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Addressing health disparities through promoting equity for individuals with intellectual disability.

Intellectual disabilities (ID) are conditions originating before the age of 18 that result in significant limitations in intellectual functioning and conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills. IDs affect 1 to 3% of the population. Persons with ID are more likely to have physical disabilities, mental health problems, hearing impairments, vision impairments and communication disorders. These co-existing disabilities, combined with the limitations in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behaviours, make this group of Canadians particularly vulnerable to health disparities. The purpose of this synthesis article is to explore potential contributory factors to health vulnerabilities faced by persons with ID, reveal the extent and nature of health disparities in this population, and examine initiatives to address such differences. The review indicates that persons with ID fare worse than the general population on a number of key health indicators. The factors leading to vulnerability are numerous and complex. They include the way society has viewed ID, the etiology of ID, health damaging behaviours, exposure to unhealthy environments, health-related mobility and inadequate access to essential health and other basic services. For persons with ID there are important disparities in access to care that are difficult to disentangle from discriminatory values and practice. Policy-makers in the United States, England and Scotland have recently begun to address these issues. It is recommended that a clear vision for health policy and strategies be created to address health disparities faced by persons with ID in Canada.

Adult↗