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PubMed1996

Fibromyalgia and work disability: Is Fibromyalgia a disabling disorder?

Fibromyalgia appears to be an increasingly important source of disability claims and payments. Twenty-five percent of patients seen in rheumatology clinics have received disability payments. Yet fibromyalgia is a clinical rather than a legal construct, and there remain very important limitations regarding the reliability and validity of diagnosis and severity assessments outside of the clinic and in the medicolegal setting. Even so, preparation of disability assessments that cover key requirements can provide substantial assistance to disability adjudicators.

Disability Evaluation↗

PubMed2001

Behaviour modification and gentle teaching workshops: management of children with learning disabilities exhibiting challenging behaviour and implications for learning disability nursing.

BACKGROUND: Challenging behaviours (behaviour difficulties) represent a problem of considerable clinical significance for learning disability nurses, and a source of much human distress. Gentle teaching is a relatively new approach to dealing with behavioural difficulties, and has been received with enthusiasm by clinicians, but has so far received little empirical support. The current study attempted to compare gentle teaching with a well-established alternative (behaviour modification) and a control group. OBJECTIVES: To examine the comparative effectiveness of gentle teaching, behaviour modification and control interventions for challenging behaviour amongst children with learning disabilities. DESIGN: Nonrandomized controlled trial. SETTING: Service users' homes in East Yorkshire. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-seven children who presented with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour (behaviour difficulties) and their parents. PROCEDURE: One-day workshops in were offered by recognized authorities in either behaviour modification or gentle teaching that were not otherwise involved with the research project. Forty-one participants were recruited to the gentle teaching condition; 36 to behaviour modification; 26 to the control group. Random allocation was not possible, because of the slow uptake by interested parents. Measures was preintervention, and at assessment points up until 12 months following intervention. ANALYSIS: Quantitative analysis of pre-post differences between the groups, using t-test. RESULTS: In general, no significant differences were found between the treatment groups and controls. Significant improvements were found for both gentle teachingand behaviour modification children over controls on the AAMR ABS XVII (social engagement) subscale. Controls had more contact with medical practitioner (GP) services than behaviour modification children and less than gentle teaching children. CONCLUSION: Although very few differences were found between the three groups, those that did exist generally favoured behaviour modification. Implications for service provision and learning disability nursing practice are described.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

[Care required by disabled persons: are official severe disability statistics good enough for requirement analyses?].

The appropriateness of the German Official Severe Disability Statistics for determining the amount of care needed by disabled persons is a controversial issue and therefore in the focus of this article. The criteria for determining the care required by disabled persons are pointed out. Data on prevalence and incidence exemplify that Official Severe Disability Statistics is only partially appropriate for assessing future care requirements. The problems become particularly obvious in topics of data collection, data processing and data storage. The deletion of the statistical data at regular intervals of five years makes long term prognosis almost impossible. While the problems concerning data processing and data storage could be solved by few modifications, the improvement of data collection could only be achieved by including and applying the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) of the WHO.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2005

A follow-up study of mortality, health conditions and associated disabilities of people with intellectual disabilities in a Swedish county.

BACKGROUND: In the planning of services and health care for individuals with intellectual disability (ID), information is needed on the special requirements for habilitation and medical service and associated disabilities. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An unselected consecutive series of 82 adult persons with ID was studied. The medical examination consisted of the individual's health condition, associated impairments and disabilities. Medical and habilitation services and support were studied. RESULTS: The results indicated that 71% of the persons in the series had severe and 29% mild ID. Forty-seven per cent of the persons with severe ID and 35% of those with mild ID had one or more additional central nervous system (CNS) disabilities. Of the persons with ID, 99% had access to a family doctor and 84% attended regular health visits. Notably, half of persons were referred to a specialist examination as a consequence of their present medical examination. Half of the persons with mental health problems were previously undiagnosed and only a few of these had access to a psychiatrist. CONCLUSION: Our study clearly demonstrates the magnitude and importance of neurological and psychiatric impairments in ID. The findings suggest a strong need for multidisciplinary health service.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

The ICIDH: format, application in different settings, and distinction between disability and handicap. A critique of papers on the application of the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps.

Recent papers on the ICIDH generally agree about the need for and the usefulness of the ICIDH, although inevitably some difficulties are reported in applying it. Some of these stem from the context and professional purpose of the assessments (on the whole the rehabilitation setting was found to be less problematic than community surveys), and others from the application to particular sub-groups, such as children, the elderly, the mentally ill, or those with milder or fluctuating disability. Most problems concerned the nature of the relationship between disability and handicap and the distinction between these concepts. This review suggests an alternative formulation of the disablement model which shows handicap as arising out of an interaction between impairment and disability and the environment in which the individual lives, the resources available, and the social and cultural setting. While on the whole optimistic, the papers reviewed indicate that there is still more work required both on a practical and conceptual level.

Disability Evaluation↗

PubMed1995

Fieldwork education and students with disabilities: enter the Americans With Disabilities Act.

For occupational therapy students with disabilities, making the transition from the classroom to clinical fieldwork presents an interesting challenge to clinical fieldwork supervisors and academic fieldwork advisors. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws have changed the rules by requiring fieldwork sites and academic programs to make accommodations for students with disabilities. Occupational therapy's basic philosophy combined with the occupational therapist's training in task analysis, functional limitations of disabilities, modification of the environment and clinical reasoning skills, places the occupational therapist in a natural position to make these reasonable accommodations. The author presents the DIALOGUE system, a method of communication designed to make a smooth transition to ADA compliance in the fieldwork arena.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

[Children with disabilities, families with a disabled child and social policy].

In this article the author described three social movements by families with a disabled child: (1) respite services which refresh family members by a short-term relief care in a local region, (2) after-school activities in which children with disabilities participate in recreation activities and built up a friendship with non-disabled people in neighborhood, and (3) schooling of children with special health care which enables the children to attend unaccompanied by mothers until after-school hours. The author's analysis indicated that a social policy for the people with disabilities and their families should consider other dimensions which may be influenced by the social policy. This is because different social settings (e.g. home, school, family) are interdependent and that events and changes in one unit have an effect on other social settings.

Child↗

PubMed1997

[Reliability of expert assessment in disability evaluation within the scope of disability insurance].

With the introduction of the law on the statutory nursing care insurance in Germany ("Pflegeversicherung") in 1995, new benefits are provided for the most severely disabled people. Provision of benefits is contingent on a standardised examination performed by the medical service of the German statutory health insurance system (MDK). Results of the first study on the inter-rater reliability of this standardised examination are presented in this paper. The study population consisted of 218 elderly people (age range 60-99) living in 4 nursing homes in Munich. They were assessed by 2 senior medical students and 2 nurses using the standardised questionnaire of the MDK. Inter-rater reliability was assessed by means of kappa coefficients. Reliability was assessed with regard to the summary judgement of disability and the rating of single items (with regard to limitations in activities of daily living, mental status or the prognosis). Inter rater reliability was higher for the overall assessment of disability (kappa = 0.71 between medical students, kappa = 0.66 between nurses) than for most of the single items of the questionnaire such as "need of assistance with dressing" (kappa = 0.57 between medical students, kappa = 0.66 between nurses) or "ability to move" (kappa = 0.58 between medical students, kappa = 0.67 between nurses). Kappa-coefficients were particularly low for variables concerning prognosis of participants and for the mental status item "self-disorientation" (kappa = 0.19 between medical students, kappa = 0.23 between nurses). These patterns were consistently observed for the 2 rater groups (student-student, nurse-nurse). Between the 2 rater groups there was no substantial difference in reliability. However, there was a trend for higher agreement within the group of nurses. Although the overall reliability of the assessment of disability is relatively high in comparison to many other diagnostic procedures (such as x-ray readings), efforts should be made towards further improvement of this standardised examination.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1984

Work disability before and after total hip arthroplasty. Assessment of effectiveness in reducing disability.

We evaluated the impact of total hip arthroplasty (THA) on work disability among working age persons. Just over one-third of those totally work disabled prior to THA were working at 1 or at 4 years after surgery. A significant long-term decrease in work disability after surgery was demonstrated by estimating disability prevented by THA, but the decrease was less than suggested by the literature. Preoperative work status and the number of painful joints were significant predictors of return to work.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The Americans with Disabilities Act: more rights for people with disabilities.

Another milestone in the quest for equal rights for people with disabilities occurred with the passage of PL101-336, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Though some controversy surrounded the passage of this legislation, the bill had clear bipartisan endorsement, as well as the support of President George Bush. The basis of the law was introduced in the Senate May 9, 1989, as Bill S933 by Senator Thomas Harkin (D-IA). A similar bill, HR2273, was introduced the same day in the House of Representatives by Rep. Anthony Coehlo (D-CA). The process by which the House and Senate bills became the final Americans with Disabilities Act was lively. Understanding the law and its provisions is important for rehabilitation nurses who are healthcare providers in frequent contact with people with disabilities.

Civil Rights↗

PubMed2002

Interferon beta1a (Avonex) treatment in multiple sclerosis: similarity of effect on progression of disability in patients with mild and moderate disability.

OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical responses to once-weekly intramuscular interferon-beta-1 a [IFNbeta-1 a, Avonex, Biogen] in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) < or = 3.5 or > 3.5. METHODS: Patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), 124 with baseline EDSS < or = 3.5 and 64 RRMS patients with EDSS > 3.5, were consecutively recruited to receive IFNbeta-1 a 30 microg as a once weekly injection for 18 months. The primary endpoint of the study was the number of patients in each group with sustained worsening in disability, defined as 1-point deterioration in EDSS that persisted for at least 6 months during the 18 month follow-up period. Subordinate endpoints included relapse rates and the number of treatment dropouts. RESULTS: Among patients with baseline EDSS < or = 3.5,16.9% experienced a deterioration in EDSS of at least 1 point; 22.5% experienced a deterioration of at least 0.5%. Corresponding rates in patients with baseline EDSS > 3.5 were 23.4% and 29% respectively (no significant differences between patients stratified according to baseline EDSS status). The proportion of patients discontinuing therapy was significantly higher in patients with baseline EDSS > 3.5 than in those with baseline EDSS < or = 3.5 (16/64 versus 12/124; p = 0.005). At the conclusion of follow-up, IFNbeta-1 a therapy was associated with a 31.7% reduction in relapse rate in patients with baseline EDSS < or = 3.5 and a 37% reduction in those with baseline EDSS > 3.5 (difference not significant). CONCLUSIONS: During 18 months of treatment and follow-up, no difference was observed in clinical responses to IFNbeta-1 a between RRMS patients with mild and moderate disability but discontinuation of therapy was more frequent in the more disabled group.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

PubMed1984

The housing of the disabled and non-disabled elderly in Wales.

The Welsh Housing and Dwelling Survey examined housing conditions of a sample of 45,000 households in the principality. In this paper the quality of dwellings inhabited by the disabled and non-disabled elderly throughout Wales is described. It is demonstrated that disabled elderly have a lower standard of housing than their non-disabled counterparts.

Aged↗

PubMed1992

Diabetes and disability among Mexican Americans: the effect of different measures of diabetes on its association with disability.

The association of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and disability was evaluated in a population of Mexican Americans from the southwest U.S. using data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Among the total sample of persons who completed a clinical examination, 14.6% reported a limitation of job performance, the inability to complete housework, or the inability to perform activities of daily living. Among the subsample who completed the clinical examination and reported having diabetes, 31.6% claimed similar disability. In those respondents who also completed an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) or who were currently receiving insulin, the prevalence of disability was 25% in persons with an abnormal OGTT and 40.2% in those who were receiving insulin compared with 14.9% in those with a normal OGTT. Self-reported diabetes was positively associated with functional impairment in the examined population after adjusting for demographic variables and comorbidity; however, diabetes confirmed by OGTT was not significantly associated with disability after adjustment for other factors. Differences in pre-existing health status between persons who completed the OGTT and those who did not are discussed in relation to these results.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2003

Validity of the neck disability index, Northwick Park neck pain questionnaire, and problem elicitation technique for measuring disability associated with whiplash-associated disorders.

The Neck Disability Index (NDI) and Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) were developed to measure self-perceived disability from neck pain, including that which may arise from whiplash injury. However, there is little data specifically concerning their validity for whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). The aim of this study was to assess the validity of the NDI and NPQ as measures of outcome in WAD by comparing them to a patient preference questionnaire, the problem elicitation technique (PET), which identifies problems that are of most importance to the individual patient. A cross-sectional study of 71 patients with varying severity and duration of WAD were recruited from a private physiotherapy practice. All patients completed a standardized self-administered questionnaire that included demographic and clinical details as well as self-perceived pain and severity of symptoms, NDI and NPQ. A trained interviewer administered the PET. Construct validity of the disability measures was examined by determining their correlation with each other and with pain and severity of symptoms by calculating Pearson's correlation coefficients. Content validity of the NDI and NPQ was assessed by comparing the items of both questionnaires to the problems identified by the PET. Participants' mean age was 40.1 years (SD=14.3) and 59 were women (83.1%). Most patients were in WAD category I (n=23, 32.1%), or II (n=42, 59.2%). Mean NDI, NPQ, and PET scores were 40.7 (SD=17.0), 38.7 (SD=15.8), and 160.2 (SD=92.0, range 6.0-509.5), respectively. Correlations between the NDI and PET, NPQ and PET, and NDI and NPQ were r=0.57, 0.56 and 0.88, respectively. The PET identified an average of 7.7 problems per patient (SD=4.2, range 1-17 problems). Problems most commonly identified were work for wages (52.1%), fatigued during the day (50.7%), participation in sports (47.9%), depression (43.7%), drive a car (43.7%), socialize with friends (33.8%), sleep through the night (31.0%), frustration (31.0%), and anger (28.2%). Only three of these problems are included in the NDI (work, driving, and sleeping) and only four are included in the NPQ (work, driving, sleeping, and social activities). While both the NDI and NPQ include some problems that are common in patients with WAD, frequently identified problems, such as emotional and social items are absent. In contrast to the PET, neither instrument captures the full spectrum of disabilities judged to be important by the patient.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Disability in depression and back pain: evaluation of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHO DAS II) in a primary care setting.

The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHO DAS II) is a new measure of disability based on the ICIDH-2 model of functioning and disability. This study evaluates the measurement properties of the WHO DAS II in two disorders commonly encountered in the primary care setting. Seventy-three patients with depression and 76 patients with back pain were interviewed at baseline and after 3 months of usual primary care. Internal validity, convergent validity, and responsiveness to change of the WHO DAS II were evaluated. The WHO DAS II had excellent internal validity and convergent validity in the primary care setting. The responsiveness to change of the WHO DAS II was comparable to that of the SF-36. The WHO DAS II appears to be a useful health status instrument for measuring the disability associated with both physical and mental disorders in the primary care setting. This instrument facilitates the use of the ICIDH-2 as a framework for evaluating activity limitations and participation.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Assessing the impact of pediatric epilepsy and concomitant behavioral, cognitive, and physical/neurologic disability: Impact of Childhood Neurologic Disability Scale.

Epilepsy has a significant impact on a child's life, the extent to which is based on four factors: epilepsy, cognition, behavioral, and physical/neurologic function. This study evaluates the ability of the 44-item Impact of Childhood Neurologic Disability Scale (ICND) to assess each of these four realms. Parents of children (aged 2 to 18 years) with epilepsy rated their child's overall quality of life and completed the ICND. External validation compared the ICND with (1) neurologists' reports of children's behavior, cognitive abilities, physical/neurologic disability, and epilepsy; and (2) parents, teachers, and children's ratings on six 'criterion standard' questionnaires. Families of 68 children with epilepsy only and 29 children with 'epilepsy-plus' (additional cognitive, behavioral, or physical/neurologic disability; 39 males, 58 females; mean age at testing 10 years 3 months [SD 4.5] age range 2 to 17 years) participated. Internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach's alpha=0.92) as was test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation=0.89). Caregivers distinguished the impact of each of the four realms. Scores were negatively related to quality of life (Pearson's r=-0.59). Children with high ICND scores had more difficulties at home and school. Their parents saw them as less rewarding and adaptable and the children saw themselves as less intelligent and less popular with more emotional problems. In addition, children with 'epilepsy-plus' had significantly higher total ICND scores as well as markedly elevated scores within each of the four realms when compared with the epilepsy-only group. It is concluded that the ICND is an accurate, quick measurement tool reflecting the impact of behavior, cognitive learning ability, physical/neurologic disability, and epilepsy on children and their families.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health in a cohort of children with cognitive, motor, and complex disabilities.

The recently endorsed World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is proposed as a new tool to describe human functioning and health in a multiprofessional approach for individuals of all ages. Its application to paediatric neurorehabilitation may be of great help, especially in children with complex disabilities. However, experience with its application in this field is still limited. We tested the application of ICF in 40 children (26 males, 14 females; age range 3 to 18 years; mean age 11 years 1 month, SD 5 years 3 months) with various types and degrees of disability. We tested the applicability and reliability of the classification, and studied its correlation with well-established measures of functioning (Verbal IQ; gross motor function measure; functional independence measure). The ICF proved to be applicable and reliable, and strongly correlated with established scales. However, several of the Activity and Participation components do not fully capture the developmental nature of many abilities of children. Our study, although acknowledging the universal application of the ICF, and the ICF's value as a clinical tool, calls for its specific adaptation to accommodate better the peculiarities of child functioning and disability.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Disability methodology redesign: considerations for a new approach to disability determination.

Disability determination meets important societal needs, involving billions of dollars and millions of people every year. However, disability determination decisions often are incorrect, and the high proportion of decision appeals and reversals creates additional administrative expense and difficulty for the people that the disability determination system is intended to support. Projects funded by the United States Social Security Administration explored these issues and developed new conceptual models and tools to improve the accuracy and fairness of disability determination. This paper provides an introduction to the projects and the papers in this special issue of the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.

Disability Evaluation↗