Objective: This exploratory study describes the problematic secondary health conditions among adults with a spinal cord injury (SCI) and the impact these health concerns have on social participation and daily life. Design: Cross-sectional survey design. Setting: A community-based rehabilitation program within the United States. Participants: Fifty-six adults (33 males and 23 females; age 18 to 73 [M = 39.4, SD = 12.7]) with SCI participating in the community-based rehabilitation program. Methods: Subjects identified the top five problematic secondary health conditions related to his/her SCI, belief about the impact these conditions have on social participation and daily life, and if they believed the secondary health condition(s) were avoidable. Results: The top problematic areas identified were bladder control, pain, bowel control, and pressure ulcers, and 73% felt these problems were unavoidable. In addition, more than 66% had each of these problems continuously during the last 12 months. When examining the impact of the problematic secondary health conditions, 75% identified that the primary problem had a significant impact on social participation and 64% identified it significantly impacted daily life. Conclusion: Although the majority of the participants were actively participating in a community-based rehabilitation wellness program, it appears that they thought engagement in social participation and daily life were negatively impacted by the secondary health conditions and unavoidable. The results suggested unfulfilled goals despite the emphasized efforts of medical providers to help manage the secondary conditions. Future research should examine why individuals with SCI still have a difficult time managing secondary health conditions.

No abstract

Positive affect items with positive wording cannot be used to assess depressive disorders in the Japanese population adequately, but this can be done with the corresponding negatively revised items.

As healthcare turns its focus to preventative community-based interventions, there is increasing interest in using in-home technology to support this goal. This study evaluates the design and use of socially assistive robots (SARs) and sensors as in-home therapeutic support for older adults with depression. The seal-like SAR Paro, along with onboard and wearable sensors, was placed in the homes of 10 older adults diagnosed with clinical depression for one month. Design workshops were conducted before and after the in-home implementation with participating older adults and clinical care staff members. Workshops showed older adults and clinicians sawseveral potential uses for robots and sensors to support in-home depression care. Long-term in-home use of the robot allowed researchers and participants to situate desired robot features in specific practices and experiences of daily life, and some user requests for functionality changed due to extended use. Sensor data showed that participants’ attitudes toward and intention to use the robot were strongly correlated with particular Circadian patterns (afternoon and evening) of robot use. Sensor data also showed that those without pets interacted with Paro significantly more than those with pets, and survey data showed they had more positive attitudes toward the SAR. Companionship, while a desired capability, emerged as insufficient to engage many older adults in long-term use of SARs in their home.