A mixed-methods study exploring and comparing the experiences of people who sustained a spinal cord injury earlier versus later in life.

Study Design: Mixed-methods.

Objectives: (1) To explore psychosocial and quality of life outcomes between those injured early versus later in life, and (2) to explore their post-injury experiences.

Setting: GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, Vancouver, Canada.

Allogeneic adsorptions: a comparison of the traditional method with a modified PEG adsorption method.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the benefits of enhancing adsorptions with PEG. Allogeneic adsorptions were performed on 20 patient samples containing warm reactive autoantibodies with two volumes of adsorbing RBCs; results using unenhanced adsorptions were compared with those using PEG-enhanced adsorptions and with using untreated adsorbing RBCs and ficin-treated adsorbing RBCs. Two volumes of adsorbing RBCs, one volume of serum, and one volume of PEG were used.

Megatrends in rehabilitation: a Canadian perspective.

In this article, based on a presentation to the New Zealand Rehabilitation Association, the author identifies and discusses seven 'megatrends' which are expected to shape the future of rehabilitation services and the quality of life enjoyed by people with disabilities. They include changes in the demography of disability, the empowerment of disabled people, the policy of integration and the rising cost of health and social-services. Also considered are changes in models of rehabilitation service delivery, the role of assistive technology and the shift from empiricism to applied rehabilitation science.

Eighteen years' experience with a community-based vocational rehabilitation programme.

Eighteen years' experience in the development of an innovative community-based regional vocational rehabilitation service has been described. The programme continues to develop with the recent introduction of a vocational consulting service offering employee assistive programmes to local employers, and with funding from the Solicitor General's Department to provide vocational assessment and retraining to women in conflict with the law. The success of this programme is due to the co-operative melding of the contributions of the university, the regional rehabilitation centre and broadly based community participation by employers and a variety of agencies.