A Survey on Injury Incidence in School Children in Shantou City, China

INTRODUCTION Injury is emerging as the most important preventable cause of death and disability in children beyond the first few months of life[1,2]. In China, injury has become a leading cause of death in children over one year[2]. In addition, injuries …     

同安区居民癌症负担中早死所致生命损失分析

目的：了解1990-2001年同安区居民癌症负担中因早死所致生命损失。方法：采用世界银行全球疾病负担评价指标体系和1990-2001年同安区死亡登记报告资料，分析恶性肿瘤给同安区居民健康造成的损失。结果：肝癌、食管癌、胃癌因早死所致生命损失年(YLLs)占恶性肿瘤总YLLs76．56％。其中．肝癌在恶性肿瘤YLLs顺位中位居第一。肺癌YLLs呈上升趋势。因早死所致生命损失主要发生在30-74岁年龄组人群。结论：消化道恶性肿瘤，尤其肝癌是危害该区居民生命健康的主要恶性肿瘤。     

The Impact of Diabetes on Workforce Participation: Results from a National Household Sample

Objective. Diabetes is a highly prevalent condition that results in substantial morbidity and premature mortality. We investigated how diabetes-associated mortality, disability, early retirement, and work absenteeism impacts workforce participation.
Data Source. We used the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a national household sample of adults aged 51–61 in 1992, as a data source.
Study Design. We conducted cross-sectional analyses on the baseline HRS data, and longitudinal analyses using data from eight years of follow-up. We used two-part regression models to estimate the adjusted impact of diabetes on workforce participation, and then estimated the economic impact of diabetes-related losses in productivity.
Principal Findings. Diabetes is a significant predictor of lost productivity. The incremental lost income due to diabetes by 1992 was $60.0 billion over an average diabetes duration of 9.7 years. From 1992 to 2000, diabetes was responsible for $4.4 billion in lost income due to early retirement, $0.5 billion due to increased sick days, $31.7 billion due to disability, and $22.0 billion in lost income due to premature mortality, for a total of $58.6 billion dollars in lost productivity, or $7.3 billion per year.
Conclusions. In the U.S. population of adults born between 1931 and 1941, diabetes is associated with a profound negative impact on economic productivity. By 1992, an estimated $60 billion in lost productivity was associated with diabetes; additional annual losses averaged $7.3 billion over the next eight years, totaling about $120 billion by the year 2000. Given the rising prevalence of diabetes, these costs are likely to increase substantially unless countered by better public health or medical interventions.     

The PaArticular Scales – A new outcome measure to quantify the impact of joint contractures on activities and participation in individuals in geriatric care: Development and Rasch analysis

BackgroundJoint contractures are frequent conditions in individuals in geriatric care settings and are associated with activity limitations and participation restrictions. As such, relevant intervention programs should address these aspects, and the effectiveness of such programs should be determined by assessing improvement in activities and participation. However, no patient-centred and psychometrically sound outcome measures for this purpose are available so far.ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to develop and to validate a new outcome measure, the PaArticular Scales, to quantify activities and participation in older individuals with joint contractures. Specific aims were (A) to operationalize the content of an International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-based standard set towards meaningful questions and to combine them to a questionnaire and (B) to assess the psychometric properties of the developed questionnaire, in detail to evaluate test–retest reliability, objectivity, internal consistency reliability and criterion validity.DesignOperationalization was reached by an expert consensus conference and a subsequent expert Delphi survey. Psychometric properties were assessed in a cross-sectional study.SettingsNursing homes, geriatric rehabilitation facilities.Participants23 experts (nurses, physicians, physical and occupational therapists) participated in the consensus conference and the Delphi survey. A total of 191 individuals with joint contractures (as confirmed by physician, nurse or physical therapist) between 65 and 102 years, living in nursing homes or as patients in geriatric rehabilitation were enrolled in the cross-sectional study.MethodsRasch Partial Credit Modelling.ResultsThe consensus conference and Delphi survey resulted in a questionnaire with 86 items of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Test–retest-reliability among those was acceptable (Cohen's weighted kappa: 0.779). The Rasch analysis revealed two independent interval-scaled scales with 24 items for the Activities scale and 11 items for the Participation scale with high internal consistency reliability. Cronbach's alpha was 0.96 for the Activities scale and 0.92 for the Participation scale. Criterion validity was −0.40 and −0.30 for the Activities scale and for the Participation scale, respectively.ConclusionsThe PaArticular Scales, a new patient-centred and psychometric sound outcome measures to comprehensively assess the impact of joint contractures in geriatric care, are available now. These developed scales will serve as primary outcomes in a scheduled evaluation of a complex intervention to improve participation and quality of life in nursing home residents with joint contractures.     

Weight loss and weight gain in Parkinson disease

IntroductionParkinson disease (PD) has been associated with both weight loss and gain in different stages of the disease. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence and associations with weight change over two years based on 3% and 5% weight change.MethodsIn this longitudinal analysis, weight at baseline and follow-up was used to classify patients into groups of weight loss, stable, and weight gain. Differences between these groups at baseline and then with change over time were tested.ResultsThe sample was 668 patients with mean(SD) age 66.1(10) and disease duration 5.3(5.4) years. Using 3% weight change criteria: 32.6% lost, 23.1% gained, and 55.7% had stable weight. Using 5% criteria: 22.6% lost, 15.7% gained, and 61.7% had stable weight. Age was associated with both 3% and 5% change in weight. Other associations with 5% weight change were disease duration, Total and Motor Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Older Americans Resource and Services disability, and Hoehn & Yahr staging. The effects of 3% weight loss on Motor UPDRS, IADLs, and depression, and the effects of 5% weight loss on IADLs remained statistically significant when controlling for baseline differences in age, levodopa use, and Total UPDRS.ConclusionPD patients are more likely to experience 3% than 5% weight change and this lower threshold of weight change was associated with greater disease severity and disability over time. Attention to more subtle weight change may help identify those at greater risk of disability.     

Comparison of Turkish Disability Policy,the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,and the core concepts of U.S. disability policy

This article compares Turkey's Constitution and its Disabled Persons Act with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the core concepts of United States (U.S.) disability policy. Conclusions are that Turkey's Constitution and statutes are remarkably congruent with the UNCRPD and the core concepts. They are not, however, identical. This fact suggests that Turkey can still improve its statutes to reflect more closely the UNCRPD and core concepts. The review of these policy documents suggests that there are other steps Turkey can take to improve disability policy and its implementation. They are to amend Turkey's laws, determine the status of individuals and families affected by disability, and pursue vigorous implementation of their rights.     

Repenser le handicap : leçons du passé, questions pour l’avenir. Apports et limites du modèle social,de la sociologie des sciences et des techniques,de l’éthique du care

In this article, I analyze one evolution in disability research over the past 30 years: the shift from an individual to a social approach to disability. While most disability research has currently “socialized” disability or at the least situates disabled people within a social context, not all do so in the same way nor based on the same assumptions. They lead to different concepts of the person and society and different concepts of disability and normalcy. I analyze this evolution by looking at three approaches to disability: the social model, the approach taken in the sociology of science and technology, and the ethics of care. I show how each, by renewing the analysis of disability, has brought about changes for disabled people and transformed ways of “living together” and “making society”. I also show the limits of these approaches and propose lines of thought for the continuation of our research, notably around the question of autonomy. I propose that we rethink autonomy from the standpoint of the notion of “recalcitrance”.     

Accessibility and Perceived Clinical Utility of the GMFM-66

The 66-item Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) requires a computer program for scoring. The primary purpose of this study was to pilot test the scoring software and examine the perceived clinical utility of the GMFM-66 as judged by 48 pediatric physical therapists. Sixty-one percent of therapists were confident in their ability to interpret the information from the computer program following one hour spent reading the tutorial and interpretation guidelines. Ninety-three percent of respondents perceived the overall clinical utility of the GMFM-66 in terms of administration, scoring and interpretation to be the same or more clinically useful than the GMFM-88.     

Evaluation of Non Diseased Specified Outcome Measures in Hand Injuries to Assess Activity and Participation Based on ICF Content

The objective of the study is to provide information about non disease specified outcome measures which evaluate disability in patients who have impairments in hand and upper extremity and to find the extent to which they are evaluating “disability” based on ICF hand Core Set (activity limitation and participation restriction). MEDLINE, CINAHL, GOOGLE SCHOLAR , OVID and SCIENCE DIRECT databases were systematically searched for studies on non disease specified outcome measures used to evaluate upper extremity function; only studies written in English were considered. We reviewed titles and abstracts of the identified studies to determine whether the studies met predefined eligibility criteria (eg, non disease specified out come measures used in hand injured patients). All the outcome measures which had eligibility included. After full text review ,7 non disease specified outcome measures in hand were identified. Studies were extracted, and the information retrieved from them. All the outcome measures which had incuded, were linked with ICF hand core set disability part (activity and participation). All of them only linked to 16 (42 %) components of ICF hand Core Set, which were most activity and less participation from ICF. None of the non disease specified out come measures in hand injuries cover all domains of disability from the ICF Hand Core Set.