An interactive, web-based tool for learning anatomic landmarks.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a Web-based interactive teaching tool that uses self-assessment exercises with real-time feedback to aid students' learning in a gross anatomy class.

Method: A total of 107 of 124 first-year medical students at one school were enrolled in the study. Students were divided into three groups: Group 1 (n = 63) received introductory material and activated their Web-based accounts; Group 2 (n = 44) received introductory material but did not activate their Web-based accounts; and Group 3 (n = 17) were not enrolled in the study and received no introductory material.

Traumatic brain injury/chronic pain syndrome: a case comparison study.

Objective: To identify the pretreatment characteristics and progress in treatment and outcomes of chronic pain patients, with and without concomitant traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design And Patients: Retrospective cohort study of 12 consecutive patients in a chronic pain treatment program who were discovered to have previously untreated brain injury and a cohort of 12 chronic pain patients from the same program matched for age and sex who did not have brain injury.

Setting: Interdisciplinary university-based outpatient rehabilitation medicine clinic.

Employment following severe traumatic brain injury: the utility of the Individual Ability Profile system (IAP).

The results of a survey of employment outcome and their relationship to psychometric indices indicated that competitive employment following severe traumatic brain injury is an ambitious endeavor. While 98% of the subjects sampled were either employed or in school premorbidly, 43% of the subjects were unemployed postinjury. Specifically, the Individual Ability Profile (IAP) ([Dean, 1982][Dean, 1983]) variables developed to assist in the clinical interpretation of the results of the WAIS-R were most highly related to employment outcome.

Marital status and adjustment to spinal cord injury.

Individuals with spinal cord injury were studied in 1974 (N = 256), 1985 (N = 347) and 1989 (N = 286) using the Life Situation Questionnaire (LSQ). The latter surveys included nearly all of the surviving participants from the 1974 sample plus a new sample of individuals with more recent injuries. Items covered activities, frequency of medical treatment, ratings of satisfaction with various aspects of life, ratings of problem areas, and judgments regarding personal adjustment to SCI.

Ageing and severe physical disability: patterns of change and implications for services.

For the first time in history, numbers of people with severe physical disabilities such as spinal cord injury or polio are surviving to old age. Ageing-related changes combined with pre-existing impairments present new challenges for these individuals and for service providers. Implications for professionals include the need to foster more collaborative relationships between themselves and recipients, to emphasize services that enable independence, to coordinate new services, and to address issues of wellness, not only disability.

Chronologic age, time since injury, and time of measurement: effect on adjustment after spinal cord injury.

People are now living longer after spinal cord injury (SCI), yet only limited research has addressed the issue of aging and adjustment after SCI. The purpose of this study was to use a time-sequential design to identify the relationship between adjustment after SCI and three facets of aging; chronologic age, time since injury, and time of measurement. Life Situation Questionnaires were obtained from one sample of participants with SCI in 1974 (n = 256) and from a second sample in 1985 (n = 193).

Marital relationships and spinal cord injury.

A questionnaire study of 122 married individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) revealed a number of differences between the marriages that took place after the onset of disability and those that had occurred earlier. The two groups were equivalent in terms of severity and duration of disability, but those married before SCI were older. ANCOVA was used in most analyses to control for age at the time of injury and at present.

Functional assessment in vocational rehabilitation: a systematic approach to diagnosis and goal setting.

The Functional Assessment Inventory (FAI) has been developed for diagnostic use in vocational rehabilitation. This study involved field testing and initial validation of the Inventory as a diagnostic tool. Thirty vocational rehabilitation counselors administered the Inventory to 351 clients.

Spinal cord injury: a comparison of preinjury and postinjury marriages.

A study of the preinjury and postinjury marriages of 55 spinal cord injured persons and their partners revealed several differences between the relationships. Although all patients had comparable levels of spinal cord injury, the disabled persons in preinjury marriages were judged to have less motivation for independence; a larger proportion of them received daily personal care assistance from their spouses. Furthermore, those in postinjury marriages were more likely to be employed and were judged to be better adjusted psychologically.

Stroke rehabilitation: evaluation of its quality by assessing patient outcomes.

A modified version of an outcome-oriented quality-assurance system was used to assess the care received by patients, aged 21 to 60 years, with completed stroke, who had participated for at least three weeks in a rehabilitation program. Care for 110 patients was evaluated by comparing actual results with a set of standards for outcomes produced by practicing rehabilitation professionals using small-group estimation techniques. Outcomes were better than estimated, standards having indicated that 29% of patients should be capable of self-care, while actually 43% were.

Vocational diagnosis through assessment of functional limitations.

Diagnosis in rehabilitation counseling requires a relatively precise delineation of client assets and liabilities. This is essential in establishing direction for counseling efforts; it can also aid in evaluating counseling effectiveness by providing a means of grouping cases according to difficulty or types of problems. This paper identifies the disadvantages of present systems of medical and psychiatric diagnoses for these vocational counseling purposes.