Publications by authors named "Rotenberg S"

Background: Errorless learning is an intervention technique used in acquired brain injury (ABI) rehabilitation. To support the use of this intervention within occupational therapy practice, it is important to know how errorless learning has been applied to (re)train daily functions.

Objectives: To describe the empirical literature on errorless learning applied to everyday functioning in adults with ABI.

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  • The ASPIRE intervention aims to enhance the daily life performance of older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) over a 10-week period.
  • It was compared to a Brain Education control group to evaluate its effectiveness in improving daily activities and overall satisfaction, along with health-related quality of life and cognitive test performance.
  • The study utilized a double-blind, randomized controlled trial design involving 264 older adults, with evaluations conducted over six months to assess the sustainability of any improvements.
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Objective: To investigate brain injury (BI) associations' perspectives regarding the impacts of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals with BI and BI associations services across Canada.

Methods: This qualitative descriptive study included 26 representatives of Canadian BI associations that participated in six online focus groups to discuss the effects of the second year of the pandemic on clients living with BI and on the provision of community services.

Results: Findings revealed three main themes: 1) ongoing pandemic-related challenges faced by clients living with BI, including worsening mental health and basic needs insecurities, difficulties faced by clients in adhering to safety measures, and ongoing technological issues; 2) ongoing adaptations to accommodate clients' needs, including offering tailored services, ensuring consistent and transparent safety measures, and providing hybrid services; and 3) developing a sustainable 'new normal' aligned with association mandates and resources by expanding networks and building resilience.

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  • The study aims to assess and improve the accessibility of primary health facilities for people with disabilities in Luuka District, Uganda, recognizing the health disparities faced by this group.
  • A tool called the Disability Awareness Checklist (DAC) was adapted and pilot-tested, involving youth researchers with disabilities in the adaptation process, to measure accessibility across various indicators.
  • Results showed low median accessibility scores (17.8% overall), with the highest scores in universal design, indicating significant room for improvement in staff training and service linkages.
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  • The Kimel Family Centre is conducting a two-year study to assess personalized dementia risk reduction programs aimed at lowering dementia risk and improving cognitive health in participants aged 50 and older.
  • Participants will undergo a thorough dementia risk assessment to receive tailored reports that address their specific health risk factors across five domains: physical activity, nutrition, cognitive engagement, social connections, and mental wellbeing.
  • About 450 participants will select programs based on their individual strategies, with assessments happening every six months and annually to track changes in their dementia risk and cognitive health.
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Background: Quality maternal health care is central to the Sustainable Development Goals efforts to reduce maternal mortality, yet there remain limited quantitative data on maternal care inequities for women with disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objectives: This study aims to understand the differences in maternal care providers for women with and without disabilities.

Method: We used Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys from 13 sub-Saharan African countries conducted between 2017-2020.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had widespread health, social and economic impacts worldwide. In many contexts, it has likely exacerbated existing inequalities.

Objective: This study compares the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic amongst people with and without disabilities in Viet Nam.

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Introduction: A key Sustainable Development Goal target is to eliminate all forms of malnutrition. Existing evidence suggests children with disabilities are at greater risks of malnutrition, exclusion from nutrition programmes and mortality from severe acute malnutrition than children without disabilities. However, there is limited evidence on the nutritional outcomes of children with disabilities in large-scale global health surveys.

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Topic Importance: Cognitive and physical limitations are common in individuals with chronic lung diseases, but their interactions with physical function and activities of daily living are not well characterized. Understanding these interactions and potential contributors may provide insights on disability and enable more tailored rehabilitation strategies.

Review Findings: This review summarizes a 2-day meeting of patient partners, clinicians, researchers, and lung associations to discuss the interplay between cognitive and physical function in people with chronic lung diseases.

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Health systems often fail people with disabilities, which might contribute to their shorter life expectancy and poorer health outcomes than people without disabilities. This Review provides an overview of the existing evidence on health inequities faced by people with disabilities and describes existing approaches to making health systems disability inclusive. Our Review documents a broad range of health-care inequities for people with disabilities (eg, lower levels of cancer screening), which probably contribute towards health differentials.

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Background: Globally, 1·3 billion people have a disability and are more likely to experience poor health than the general population. However, little is known about the mortality or life expectancy gaps experienced by people with disabilities. We aimed to undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between disability and mortality, compare these findings to the evidence on the association of impairment types and mortality, and model the estimated life expectancy gap experienced by people with disabilities.

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Background: Cervical cancer screening is an important public health priority, yet many marginalized groups are not reached by existing programs. The nearly 700 million women with disabilities globally face substantial barriers in accessing cervical cancer screening and have lower coverage, yet there is limited evidence on what would support enhanced uptake among this population.

Methods: We updated a systematic review to estimate the disparity in screening uptake for women with disabilities.

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Introduction: Disability and HIV are intricately linked, as people with disabilities are at higher risk of contracting HIV, and living with HIV can lead to impairments and disability. Despite this well-established relationship, there remains limited internationally comparable evidence on HIV knowledge and access to testing for people with disabilities.

Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 37 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys.

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In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), there are 85 million people with disabilities (PwD). They often experience barriers accessing healthcare and die, on average, 10-20 years earlier than those without disabilities. This study aimed to systematically review the quantitative literature on access to general healthcare among PwD, compared to those without disabilities, in LAC.

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Purpose: Older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) experience cognitive difficulties without objectively measurable cognitive impairments but which may affect their everyday functioning. However, everyday functioning in this population has not yet been characterized. We sought to describe the empirical literature on the everyday functioning of community-dwelling older adults with SCD, their recruitment methods, and the measurements used.

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Purpose: To (1) describe the challenges identified by cancer survivors, healthcare providers, and employers related to work maintenance and optimization during and after cancer treatment and (2) identify strategies that can address those challenges.

Methods: We conducted content analysis of semi-structured interview data collected from cancer survivors, healthcare providers, and employers regarding workplace challenges that cancer survivors face and strategies to address them. Challenges and strategies were summarized according to whether they related to the cancer survivor, the work demands, or the work environment.

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  • Play is crucial for the development of all children, but children with disabilities face about 9% fewer play opportunities than their peers without disabilities.
  • Data from over 212,000 children across 38 Low and Middle-Income Countries revealed significant disparities, particularly in countries like Mongolia and São Tomé and Príncipe.
  • The study indicates that children with disabilities, especially girls and those with communication or learning impairments, are less likely to engage in play, which could negatively affect their overall development.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has increased challenges for people living with brain injury and community associations to support this vulnerable population. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by brain injury survivors during the first year of the pandemic and how community brain injury associations adapted their services to respond to these needs. Findings from seven focus-group with 31 representatives of Canadian brain injury associations revealed 4 main themes: (1) Addressing evolving client needs; (2) Keeping clients safe; (3) Challenges and opportunities navigating the digital world; and (4) Sustaining brain injury associations in the face of uncertainties and disruptions.

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  • The birth prevalence of clubfoot ranges from 0.5 to 2 per 1000 births, but there has been no global estimate until now.
  • A systematic review found a pooled prevalence of 1.18 per 1000 births based on data from over 44 million births, with higher rates in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in South-East Asia and Africa.
  • The study emphasizes the need for better access to treatment and prevention strategies for clubfoot in resource-limited settings, as it estimates around 176,476 children are born with this condition globally each year.
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Aims: The aims of the study are to evaluate the performance of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) imaging in the detection of noncalcified gallstones (GSs) and to assess its performance relative to transabdominal ultrasound (US) in identifying cholelithiasis.

Method: This study is a retrospective review of radiology records and images to find all patients who had both US and DECT scans within a 6-month period and were found to have GSs. Patients who did not have GSs on US served as the control group.

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