Integration of rehabilitation services in primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of health care systems in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.

Purpose: Integration is a concept that seeks to strengthen the delivery of services to ensure people receive a continuum of care across the health system. We conducted a scoping review to explore how rehabilitation services have been integrated into health systems in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs).

Materials And Methods: We conducted a scoping review using Valentijn's Rainbow Model of Integrated Care (RMIC) as an organising framework.

The Journey to Early Identification and Intervention for Children with Disabilities in Fiji.

Early identification of developmental delay or disability and access to early intervention improves outcomes for children with disabilities and their families. However, in many low- and middle-income countries, services and systems to enable timely, co-ordinated care and support are lacking. The aim of this research was to explore the experiences of families of children with developmental disabilities in Fiji in accessing services for intervention and support across sectors.

Barriers to access to ear and hearing care services in low- and middle- income countries: A scoping review.

People living in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) meet significant challenges in accessing ear and hearing care (EHC) services. We conducted a scoping review to identify and summarise such barriers, to recognise gaps in the literature, and to identify potential solutions. Reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts and full-text articles and charted data.

The Future of Disability Research in Australia: Protocol for a Multiphase Research Agenda-Setting Study.

Background: For people with disabilities to live a good life, it is essential that funded research in health and social care addresses their interests, meets their needs, and fills gaps in our understanding of the impact that services, systems, and policies may have on them. Decisions about research funding should be based on an understanding of the research priorities of people with disabilities, their supporters and allies, disability researchers, service providers, and policy makers working in the field.

Objective: The aim of this protocol is to describe the research design and methods of a large-scale, disability research agenda-setting exercise conducted in 2021 in Australia.

Development of a Digital Case Management Tool for Community Based Inclusive Development Program.

Disability inclusive development practices require reliable data to identify people with disabilities, their barriers to participation and support needs. Although several tools are available for measuring different components of disability, it is often difficult for program teams in low resource settings, including lay community workers of community based inclusive development (CBID) programs, to collect and analyze data for program monitoring and evaluation. This paper presents the development of a digital CBID Modular Tool with automated data analysis to support routine case management processes and monitoring of a CBID program in Laos PDR.

Combining Child Functioning Data with Learning and Support Needs Data to Create Disability-Identification Algorithms in Fiji's Education Management Information System.

Disability disaggregation of Fiji's Education Management Information System (FEMIS) is required to determine eligibility for inclusive education grants. Data from the UNICEF/Washington Group Child Functioning Module (CFM) alone is not accurate enough to identify disabilities for this purpose. This study explores whether combining activity and participation data from the CFM with data on environmental factors specific to learning and support needs (LSN) more accurately identifies children with disabilities.

Vision impairment and refractive errors in refugees presenting to community optometry clinics in Victoria, Australia.

Background: There is a paucity of data relating to refugee eye health in Australia. This study aimed at investigating the spectrum of vision impairment and other ocular conditions in refugees utilising the Victorian Eyecare Service operated by the Australian College of Optometry.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of electronic clinical records of 518 individuals (adults and children) recognised as refugees by the Australian College of Optometry and treated between January 2013 and May 2014 were identified.

The UNICEF/Washington Group Child Functioning Module-Accuracy, Inter-Rater Reliability and Cut-Off Level for Disability Disaggregation of Fiji's Education Management Information System.

This paper explores the validity (sensitivity and specificity) of different cut-off levels of the UNICEF/Washington Group Child Functioning Module (CFM) and the inter-rater reliability between teachers and parents as proxy respondents, for disaggregating Fiji's education management information system (EMIS) by disability. The method used was a cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study comparing CFM items to standard clinical assessments for 472 primary school aged students in Fiji. Whilst previous domain-specific results showed "good" to "excellent" accuracy of the CFM domains seeing, hearing, walking and speaking, newer analysis shows only "fair" to "poor" accuracy of the cognitive domains (learning, remembering and focusing attention) and "fair" of the overall CFM (area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve: 0.

Factors Influencing Disability Inclusion in General Eye Health Services in Bandung, Indonesia: A Qualitative Study.

The Inclusive System for Effective Eye-care (I-SEE) is a pilot project for disability inclusion in eye health in Bandung district of Indonesia. The aim of this research was to investigate factors influencing the introduction, i.e.

Unmet Needs and Use of Assistive Products in Two Districts of Bangladesh: Findings from a Household Survey.

Access to assistive products (AP) is an under-researched public health issue. Using an adaptation of a draft World Health Organization tool-the 'Assistive Technology Assessment-Needs (ATA-N)' for measuring unmet needs and use of AP, we aimed to understand characteristics of AP users, self-reported needs and unmet needs for AP, and current access patterns in Bangladesh. The ATA-N was incorporated in a Rapid Assessment of Disability (RAD), a population-based survey to estimate prevalence and correlates of disability.

Multiple barriers to participation for people with psychosocial disability in Dehradun district, North India: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study used a population-based cross-sectional survey to describe the prevalence of psychosocial disability and unmet need for access to services in North India.

Setting: This study was conducted in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, in 2014.

Participants: A population-based sample of 2441 people over the age of 18 years.

Measurement accuracy: Enabling human rights for Fijian students with speech difficulties.

Purpose: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the rights to communication and education and measuring access to these rights for children with disabilities is fundamental. The UNICEF/Washington Group Child Functioning Module (CFM) is being promoted to measure progress against the Sustainable Development Goals for children with disabilities. This cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study in Fiji compares parent and teacher CFM responses to the Intelligibility in Context Scale for 463 primary-aged students with and without speech difficulties.

Validating the UNICEF/Washington Group Child Functioning Module for Fijian schools to identify seeing, hearing and walking difficulties.

Purpose: This study investigated the seeing, hearing and walking questions of the UNICEF/Washington Group Child Functioning Module and the inter-rater reliability between teachers and parents as proxy respondents.

Methods: Cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study, two-gate design with representative sampling, comparing Module responses to reference standard assessments for 472 primary aged students in Fiji. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to determine the area under the curve and optimal cut-off points.

The situation of low vision services in Papua New Guinea: an exploratory study.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the current situation of low vision services and barriers to low vision service delivery in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Methods: An exploratory study was undertaken to assess the situation of available services, human resources, training, equipment and assistive devices, supportive policies, needs of people with low vision and community attitudes toward people with low vision. In-depth interviews with 50 key informants were conducted in-country.

Rapid assessment of disability in the Philippines: understanding prevalence, well-being, and access to the community for people with disabilities to inform the W-DARE project.

Background: International recognition that people with disabilities were excluded from the Millennium Development Goals has led to better inclusion of people with disabilities in the recently agreed Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs) 2015-2030. Given the current global agenda for disability inclusion, it is crucial to increase the understanding of the situation of people with disabilities in the Philippines. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of disability and compare the well-being and access to the community between people with and without disabilities.

Prevalence of disability among adults using Rapid Assessment of Disability tool in a rural district of South India.

Background: There are different estimates of disability prevalence reported in India due to the differences in definitions and methodologies. Reliable data is needed to plan effective disability inclusive strategies.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with disability among adults ≥18 years of age in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh using the Rapid Assessment of Disability (RAD) tool.

W-DARE: a three-year program of participatory action research to improve the sexual and reproductive health of women with disabilities in the Philippines.

Background: In many contexts, women with disability have less access to sexual and reproductive health information, screening, prevention, and care services than women without disability. Women with disability are also known to be more likely to experience physical and sexual violence than women without disability. In the Philippines, health service providers often have little awareness of the sexual and reproductive experiences of women with disability and limited capacity to provide services in response to their needs.

Prevalence and correlates of disability in Bogra district of Bangladesh using the rapid assessment of disability survey.

Background: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of disability and its associated risk factors among adults aged 18 years and over in Bogra district, Bangladesh.

Methods: The Rapid Assessment of Disability (RAD) survey was conducted using probability-proportional-to-size sampling to select 66 clusters each with 50 people aged 18 years and older in 2010. Households within clusters were selected through compact segment sampling.

A randomised controlled trial of a self-management programme for low vision implemented in low vision rehabilitation services.

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of a low vision self-management programme (LVSMP) in older adults.

Methods: Participants (n=153) were existing clients of a national low vision rehabilitation organisation randomly allocated to usual services (n=60) or usual services plus LVSMP (n=93). The LVSMP was an 8-week group programme facilitated by low vision counsellors.

Field-testing of the rapid assessment of disability questionnaire.

Background: The Rapid Assessment of Disability (RAD) questionnaire measures the magnitude and impact of disability and aims to inform the design of disability inclusive development programs. This paper reports the psychometric evaluation of the RAD.

Methods: The initial version of the RAD comprised five sections: 1) demographics, 2) functioning, 3) rights awareness, 4) well-being, and 5) access to the community.

Rasch analysis reveals problems with multiplicative scoring in the macular disease quality of life questionnaire.

Purpose: To evaluate validity and psychometric characteristics of the Macular Disease Quality of Life questionnaire (MacDQoL), a multiplicative rating scale designed to measure vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) in macular diseases and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: We included 108 patients with neovascular AMD at baseline before ranibizumab treatment.

Critical issues in implementing low vision care in the Asia-Pacific region.

Two-thirds of the world's population with low vision resides in the Asia-Pacific region. Provision of comprehensive low vision services is important to improve vision-related quality of life (QoL) for people with this condition. This review outlines the critical issues and challenges facing the provision of low vision services in the Asia-Pacific region.

Impact of bilateral open and closed-angle glaucoma on glaucoma-specific functioning in Asians.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of bilateral primary glaucoma on glaucoma-specific functioning in Asians.

Methods: Patients with bilateral primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) aged 40 years or above of Chinese ethnicity in Singapore were recruited. All underwent a comprehensive clinical assessment of glaucoma.

The relative impact of vision impairment and cardiovascular disease on quality of life: the example of pseudoxanthoma elasticum.

Objective: To investigate the impact of pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), a rare hereditary disease of concurrent vision impairment (VI) and cardiovascular complications (CVCs), on vision-related (VRQoL) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Methods: VRQoL and HRQoL were assessed using the Impact of Vision Impairment (IVI) questionnaire and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) in 107 PXE patients. Patients were stratified into four groups: A = no VI or CVC; B = CVCs only; C = VI only; and D = both VI and CVCs.

Validation and reliability of the VF-14 questionnaire in a German population.

Purpose: To evaluate the validity, reliability, and measurement characteristics of the Visual Function 14 (VF-14) in a German sample using Rasch analysis.

Methods: This was a clinic-based, cross-sectional study with 184 patients with low vision recruited from an outpatient clinic at a German eye hospital. Participants underwent a clinical examination and completed the German VF-14 scale.