Dynamic ankle-foot orthoses as a part of treatment in children with spastic diplegia--parents' perceptions.

Background And Purpose: Dynamic ankle-foot orthoses (DAFOs) are often recommended for children with spastic diplegia in order to facilitate better function. The aim of the present study was to explore how the parents of children with diplegic cerebral palsy experience the use of DAFOs.

Method: A qualitative interview study with a broad research question: 'How do you perceive that DAFOs influence your child?' The parents of 15 children, aged 4-18 years, who all had spastic diplegia and wore DAFOs were interviewed.

Patients' perceptions of their participation in rehabilitation planning and professionals' view of their strategies to encourage it.

The purposes of this descriptive study were threefold: first, to describe how patients perceived their participation in the planning of their rehabilitation; second, to describe nurses' and occupational therapists' view of the strategies they used to encourage patients' participation; and third, to compare the perceptions of the two groups. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 57 hospitalized patients, 39 nurses and 11 occupational therapists. On the basis of the data patients were categorized as (a) 'relinquishers', (b) 'participants', and (c) 'occasional participants'.

Ethical Dilemmas Encountered by Community-based Occupational Therapists in Home Care Settings.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the ethical dilemmas community-based occupational therapists report encountering in home settings. Data was collected from 23 community-based occupational therapists, each of whom provided 1 or 2 narratives, including some ethical dilemmas associated with rehabilitation in home care settings (a total of 40 dilemmas.) The dilemmas were analysed by content analysis, a method of handling qualitative material.