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Approaches for Preventing Illness and Injury for Individuals with Disabilities and Their Caregivers

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Disabilities".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2023) | Viewed by 12885

Special Issue Editor

1. KITE Research Insitute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada
2. Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S, Canada
Interests: back injury; fall prevention; pressure injury prevention; accessibility

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Many individuals suffer from injuries or illnesses that are largely preventable. Some have their lives turned upside down suddenly, as in the case of an individual sustaining a concussion following a fall resulting from a slip in icy weather or a trip on an uneven sidewalk. Similarly, an unpaid caregiver can be thrown into a stressful new role when a spouse comes home after surviving a stroke and a slew of new challenging tasks must be managed. For other individuals, inactivity resulting from the poor accessibility of their environments can spark a slow but steady downward spiral in health. Other examples of preventable conditions include pressure injuries for individuals with poor mobility, infections that are the result of poor hand hygiene, and musculoskeletal disorders experienced by caregivers who often have to perform heavy patient handling tasks while adopting awkward postures.

There is a strong need for more research on approaches for preventing these injuries and illnesses – particularly for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers, who are likely to experience the greatest negative impacts from these conditions. Papers addressing these and other related topics are invited for this Special Issue—especially those that focus on the development and evaluation of methods to reduce the risk of preventable injuries and illnesses for vulnerable populations.

Dr. Tilak Dutta
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • prevention
  • disability
  • injury
  • illness
  • inactivity
  • falls
  • pressure injury
  • accessibility
  • activity
  • back injury
  • shoulder injury
  • musculoskeletal disorder
  • caregiver

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 479 KiB  
Article
Caregivers’ Experiences with School–Work Transitions for Their Children with Disorders of Intellectual Development
by Veerle Garrels and Hanne Marie Høybråten Sigstad
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 1892; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph20031892 - 19 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1496
Abstract
During the period of school–work transition, caregivers of young adults with disorders of intellectual development (ID) often play an extended and leading role in supporting their children. This article explores caregivers’ overall experiences with their children’s school–work transition. Ten qualitative in-depth interviews were [...] Read more.
During the period of school–work transition, caregivers of young adults with disorders of intellectual development (ID) often play an extended and leading role in supporting their children. This article explores caregivers’ overall experiences with their children’s school–work transition. Ten qualitative in-depth interviews were carried out with eleven parents/guardians of ten young adults with disorders of ID. Through reflexive thematic analysis, the following themes emerged: (i) varying degrees of preparation for employment during school years; (ii) the experience of transition collapse; (iii) struggling to navigate the system; (iv) caregivers’ ambitions and high expectations; and (v) positive meetings with professionals. All caregivers in our study had clear ambitions about employment for their children, and they supported them by advocating for their rights and by collaborating as best as possible with the support system. However, their experiences bring to light how the transition process often appears random and without an overarching implementation strategy. The overall picture of the transition process is a time of concern and stress for caregivers, with room for improvement in most areas. Full article
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9 pages, 1246 KiB  
Article
Fall Prevention Program Using Home Floor Plans in an Acute-Care Hospital: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial
by Tetsuya Ueda, Yumi Higuchi, Tatsunori Murakami, Wataru Kozuki, Gentoku Hattori and Hiromi Nomura
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 11062; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph191711062 - 04 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2064
Abstract
We provided fall prevention programs using home floor plans for older adult patients discharged from an acute-care hospital and verified the fall prevention measures’ effectiveness six months after discharge. The research design was a preliminary randomized controlled trial. Orthopedic patients with a falls’ [...] Read more.
We provided fall prevention programs using home floor plans for older adult patients discharged from an acute-care hospital and verified the fall prevention measures’ effectiveness six months after discharge. The research design was a preliminary randomized controlled trial. Orthopedic patients with a falls’ history were randomized to the control (n = 30) or the intervention groups (n = 30). Before discharge, the control group was treated with general physiotherapy for their disease characteristics. The intervention group received the same programs before discharge; additionally, a simple house evaluation was conducted using the subject’s home floor plan. A six-month follow-up survey was conducted on falls and near-falls after discharge, completed by 51 of the 60 subjects (85%). Within two months, falls occurred in 7.7% of the control group but not in the intervention group, after which, falls occurred in the intervention group, and no significant difference was noted between the two groups (three-month (p = 0.322) and six-month (p = 0.931) follow-ups). The intervention group had significantly fewer near-falls than the control group within three months (p = 0.034), but no significant difference was observed after three months. The results suggested that our program effectively expanded the role of an acute care hospital for discharged patients who need to transition from hospital care to home health care. Full article
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14 pages, 1079 KiB  
Article
Falls at the Geriatric Hospital Ward in the Context of Risk Factors of Falling Detected in a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment
by Lukasz Magnuszewski, Aleksandra Wojszel, Agnieszka Kasiukiewicz and Zyta Beata Wojszel
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 10789; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph191710789 - 30 Aug 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2317
Abstract
It is only by knowing the most common causes of falls in the hospital that appropriate and targeted fall prevention measures can be implemented. This study aimed to assess the frequency of falls in a hospital geriatrics ward and the circumstances in which [...] Read more.
It is only by knowing the most common causes of falls in the hospital that appropriate and targeted fall prevention measures can be implemented. This study aimed to assess the frequency of falls in a hospital geriatrics ward and the circumstances in which they occurred and evaluate the parameters of the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) correlating with falls. We considered medical, functional, and nutritional factors associated with falls and built multivariable logistic regression analysis models. A total of 416 (median age 82 (IQR 77–86) years, 77.4% women) hospitalizations in the geriatrics ward were analyzed within 8 months. We compared the results of a CGA (including health, psycho-physical abilities, nutritional status, risk of falls, frailty syndrome, etc.) in patients who fell and did not fall. Fourteen falls (3.3% of patients) were registered; the rate was 4.4 falls per 1000 patient days. They most often occurred in the patient’s room while changing position. Falls happened more frequently among people who were more disabled, had multimorbidity, were taking more medications (certain classes of drugs in particular), had Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, reported falls in the last year, and were diagnosed with orthostatic hypotension. Logistic regression determined the significant independent association between in-hospital falls and a history of falls in the previous 12 months, orthostatic hypotension, Parkinson’s disease, and taking statins, benzodiazepines, and insulin. Analysis of the registered falls that occurred in the hospital ward allowed for an analysis of the circumstances in which they occurred and helped to identify people at high risk of falling in a hospital, which can guide appropriate intervention and act as an indicator of good hospital care. Full article
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9 pages, 322 KiB  
Article
Validity of the Friedrich Short Form of the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress in Parents of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder
by Eun-Young Park
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(22), 12174; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph182212174 - 19 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1627
Abstract
There is insufficient knowledge about the psychometric properties of the Friedrich short form of the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS-F) used to measure the caregiving burden of caregivers of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study, therefore, aimed to confirm [...] Read more.
There is insufficient knowledge about the psychometric properties of the Friedrich short form of the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS-F) used to measure the caregiving burden of caregivers of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study, therefore, aimed to confirm the validity of the QRS-F. The data selected using the systematic sampling method were analyzed to verify the factor structure of the QRS-F on parents of individuals with ASD. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed to confirm the validity and the factor structure of the scale. The Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to verify the relation with other measures. The original factor model was not appropriate to assess the caregiving burden on parents of individuals with ASD because the models did not show adequate fit indices. The evaluation of results based on a total score was explored, which demonstrated the expected association between depression severity and caregiving time. Overall, this study supports the use of the QRS-F for measuring the caregiving burden of parents of individuals with ASD by comparing the total score with other related variables. Full article
10 pages, 651 KiB  
Article
Relationship among Gross Motor Function, Parenting Stress, Sense of Control, and Depression in Mothers of Children with Cerebral Palsy
by Eun-Young Park
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(17), 9285; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18179285 - 02 Sep 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2133
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among the gross motor function of children with cerebral palsy and parenting stress, sense of control, and depression in their mothers. Data were collected from 247 children with cerebral palsy and their mothers. [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among the gross motor function of children with cerebral palsy and parenting stress, sense of control, and depression in their mothers. Data were collected from 247 children with cerebral palsy and their mothers. To verify the relationship among variables, path analysis was performed. The control variables included the sex and age of the children. The proposed model showed good fit indices. Gross motor function had an indirect effect on parenting stress and depression and a direct effect on parenting stress and self-control (as parenting sense of control). Parenting stress had an indirect effect on depression and a direct effect on self-control and depression. This result suggests the importance of improving the gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy and self-control in the mothers, as well as decreasing parenting stress to reduce the level of the mothers’ depression. Considering the mediating effect of self-control on depression, programs designed to enhance self-control could be effective in decreasing depression in mothers of children with cerebral palsy. Full article
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Review

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23 pages, 34249 KiB  
Review
A Scoping Review on Minimum Foot Clearance: An Exploration of Level-Ground Clearance in Individuals with Abnormal Gait
by Abdulrahman Al Bochi, Ghazaleh Delfi and Tilak Dutta
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(19), 10289; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph181910289 - 29 Sep 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2336
Abstract
Background: Falls are a major health concern, with one in three adults over the age of 65 falling each year. A key gait parameter that is indicative of tripping is minimum foot clearance (MFC), which occurs during the mid-swing phase of gait. This [...] Read more.
Background: Falls are a major health concern, with one in three adults over the age of 65 falling each year. A key gait parameter that is indicative of tripping is minimum foot clearance (MFC), which occurs during the mid-swing phase of gait. This is the second of a two-part scoping review on MFC literature. The aim of this paper is to identify vulnerable populations and conditions that impact MFC mean or median relative to controls. This information will inform future design/maintenance standards and outdoor built environment guidelines. Methods: Four electronic databases were searched to identify journal articles and conference papers that report level-ground MFC characteristics. Two independent reviewers screened papers for inclusion. Results: Out of 1571 papers, 43 relevant papers were included in this review. Twenty-eight conditions have been studied for effects on MFC. Eleven of the 28 conditions led to a decrease in mean or median MFC including dual-task walking in older adults, fallers with multiple sclerosis, and treadmill walking. All studies were conducted indoors. Conclusions: The lack of standardized research methods and covariates such as gait speed made it difficult to compare MFC values between studies for the purpose of defining design and maintenance standards for the outdoor built environment. Standardized methods for defining MFC and an emphasis on outdoor trials are needed in future studies. Full article
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